ICC World Cup 2019 | Things didn’t go as planned, says Virat Kohli
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Virat Kohli has stated that things didn’t go as per plans during the first warm-up encounter between India and New Zealand on Saturday. The skipper won the toss and opted to bat first despite seaming conditions as he wanted his team to be ready for the toughest challenges going into the World Cup.
The Indian team was wrapped up for just 179 runs in 39.2 overs while batting first in the World Cup warm-up encounter against New Zealand. The pacers decimated the Indian batsmen with their swing on a green top coupled with overcast conditions. However, the wicket played better in the second half and the Indian bowlers could only return four wickets in the 37.1 overs that the Kiwis took to chase down the target. Virat Kohli also pointed out that the pitch did not offer much assistance to the bowlers in the second innings.
"Didn't go to plan. Good challenge up front though. We can expect that in some places in England when conditions are overcast. And of course, there wasn't much in the pitch when we came out to bowl," he said at the post-match presentation ceremony, reported Cricbuzz.
Ravindra Jadeja was the lone batsman who scored a fifty while Hardik Pandya was the second highest scorer with 30 runs. MS Dhoni tried to hold one end during his 42-ball-17 run innings but threw away his wicket in an uncharacteristic manner. The team was at 91 for seven in 22.3 overs after Dhoni’s wicket but Bhuvneshwar Kumar could only score one run in 17 balls, followed by a 63-run partnership between Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav that took the score to 179. The skipper felt that the middle-order’s performance comes as a positive.
"From 50 (39) for 4 to get to 180 was a good effort. In a tournament like the World Cup, the top order can go off sometimes, so Hardik getting runs, MS absorbing pressure and Jadeja's fifty, those were good positives,” remarked the 30-year-old.
New Zealand did not get the best of starts either as Colin Munro was dismissed for four runs in the second over from a fiery yorker by Jasprit Bumrah. Hardik dismissed Martin Guptill, for 22 runs, in the tenth over. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor then stitched a 114-run partnership as the spinners failed to pick wickets in the middle overs.
The batsmen played risk-free shots with the small target hardly giving a chance to the bowlers, however, the duo of Williamson and Taylor failed to finish things off as they were dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal and Jadeja respectively. Henry Nicholls finished the formalities with an unbeaten 15. Kohli called out to his team to excel in all three formats.
“We bowled well - they were going at four, four point five per over - and looking at that in isolation we did well. Fielders are going to play a crucial role, half chances will be massive. We'll have to be precise in all three departments,” he signed off.
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