‘We were 30 runs short; Kiwis tackled our spinners well’: Kohli

TIL Desk Sports/ Captain Virat Kohli admitted that India were at least 30 runs short while lauding the application shown by New Zealand’s batsmen, especially Tom Latham, in the first One-Day International at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday. Kohli’s 31st hundred, in his 200th ODI, was overshadowed as New Zealand chased down a target of 281 in 49 overs, with Latham scoring an unbeaten 103 and Ross Taylor contributing 95.

“We thought 275 (280) was a good total, but Ross and Tom were fantastic. They did not give us any chances, apart from a run-out here or there. And when you get a 200-run partnership, you deserve to win,” said Kohli, at the post-match presentation ceremony. He reckoned that the pitch played really well in the second half and dew became an issue.

“Putting dew into perspective, in the last 13-14 overs, we were 20-30 runs short. But in the first half of the day, the wicket was playing very differently. We would have liked a better batting performance, if a couple more guys had chipped in, batting a few more overs, we could have had 40 runs extra,” said Kohli.