Chasing a target of 322, West Indies put up an inspired show, especially after losing the first three wickets for just 78 runs to tie the second ODI against India in Vizag on Wednesday. Even though Virat Kohli would have loved for the home team to win the game in which he became the fastest batsman to score 10,000 ODI runs, the India skipper said that a tie was a fair result considering how West Indies fought back in the second innings of the match.
“It was a great game of cricket, great to be part of it. Full house and credit to the West Indies team as well, they showed great heart. Specially in the second innings, when they got stuck in despite being three down. Beautiful partnership between both those guys but the way two teams played it was a fair result,” he said.
Speaking on achieving the personal milestone of 10,000 ODI runs and the decision to win the toss and bat first, Kohli said: “Personally, I’m pretty proud of my innings and my milestone. It’s something we decided pre-game, everyone wanted to bat first as it was hot and humid. But in hindsight, in big tournaments like World Cup or Champions Trophy, we might be batting first and we have to embrace every thing that comes our way.”
Kohli made no bones about the fact that the pitch which looked slow to start with, changed colour under lights and batting was easier in the second innings.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli made no bones about the fact that the pitch which looked slow to start with, changed colour under lights and batting was easier in the second innings.
{{/usCountry}}“The pitch was drastically different in the first and the second innings. We were looking at 275-280 but then I got going and we got those 30-40 runs extra. We put up a challenge in front of us today and luckily we got the draw, we will take it at the end of the day,” he explained.
Kohli also praised the duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal for putting up an inspired show despite the dew making it difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball. “When the run rate fell under 6, I thought they are in a strong position to finish off well now but then Kuldeep got us back in the game. Chahal bowled a brilliant over and Shami, Umesh came back beautifully. And the game nicely drifted in the last 7 overs, especially in the last 5-6 overs,” he said.
While it looked like the game was in the bag for India, Shai Hope managed to hit a boundary off the last ball to ensure that the match ended in a tie. Kohli said that the visitors deserved a draw after showing great determination.
“In the end, we had got the game but then one boundary off Umesh, off the shoe and that boundary from Rayudu just a few inches away. We all need to enjoy the game. We obviously would look at the negatives and positives. I’m sure everyone enjoyed and the Windies deserved a draw at least and I think we did well to sneak in a draw,” he signed off.