Virat Kohli looked dejected after his side suffered a whitewash in an ODI series for the first time under his watch. After the superb results in the T20I series, India failed to show up in the ODIs as New Zealand found new ways to bounce back and get results in their favour. “The games are not as bad as the scoreline suggests,” Kohli said to the host broadcaster during the post-match presentation. “The first game, we were pretty much in the contest. Again, it boils down to the chances we didn’t grab. And all three games, I thought, the way we fielded and the composure with the ball - I don’t think that was enough to win games of cricket at the international level.
Kohli pointed out at the bowlers and he could have not been more accurate in his assessment. The bowling average of India’s fast bowlers in the series reads 114.60 - this is their second-worst in an ODI series of three or more matches. The pacers were able to pick only five wickets in the 85.2 overs bowled. Shardul Thakur claimed four wickets while Mohammed Shami managed to pick only one wicket. Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini went wicketless in the entire series.
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Now, if we pit these numbers against the hosts, there is a massive gulf in the numbers. New Zealand pacers combined to pick up 18 wickets at average of 41.
“With the ball we were not able to make enough breakthroughs. And in the field as well, we were not good at all. So didn’t deserve to be on the winning side at all in the series. Haven’t played so badly, but if you don’t grab your chances at this level then teams are going to hurt you,” Kohli said after the match.