Virat Kohli hails India’s batting display, calls it “most balanced performance”
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India’s domineering display continued in South Africa on Sunday as they took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series buoyed by a blistering first innings batting display. The skipper also hinted at giving chances to the fresh faces in the squad in the upcoming games, after taking an early lead.
After being asked to bat first, which Kohli revealed, post the toss, was not India’s plan A, the visitors started off magnificently with Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan all firing on all cylinders from the very first ball. In the end, India posted a target of 203 that was way above the average first innings score at Wanderers (167).
While the adventurous approach hardly helped any batsman to score big, it was Dhawan’s 72-run knock that stood out. Praising the bold approach by his side that had Raina and Manish Pandey playing for the first time in this tour, Kohli termed it a collective performance.
"It was a really good wicket to bat on. Rohit and Shikhar were outstanding at the top. It was a total team batting performance and in the end, Bhuvi showing his experience - all in
India’s aggressive start was, however, toned down after the 15th over when Dhawan returned to the pavilion as India managed to add less than 50 runs in the last five overs, after getting over 150 runs in the first 15. And despite admitting that he was expecting the target to soar higher, Kohli stated that his side kept the high run-rate intact throughout.
“We never let the run rate drop less than 10.5. I was thinking maybe 220 at the 16-over mark. The basic message to the team
India had given chance to rookie Shardul Thakur in the last ODI in Centurion, where the 26-year-old flourished by scalping four wickets. Now, with India already leading the T20I series 1-0, Kohli hinted at giving the fresh and inexperienced faces another chance in the upcoming games.
“We wanted to make the most of the time we have left here. It's an opportunity to play for your country every time and we have fresh faces who are looking for those opportunities at all times so there's a new motivation every time," said the skipper.
