India vs New Zealand | It was a clinical performance by us, says Virat Kohli

The Indian team is on a roll winning the first two matches of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand. The Indian team won the match due to an all round effort as almost all the players played their part to perfection. Indian skipper Virat Kohli too felt that his team put in a clinical performance and commended the batsmen for a balanced performance.

"Clinical performance again. We were really balanced with the bat. 325 was par. Not something you feel comfortable considering New Zealand's batting. But it was good to put up a balanced performance," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Kohli scored 43 runs in the match and perished in the middle overs trying to increase the run flow. He is of the opinion that the Indian team needs to score those extra 15-20 runs in the middle-overs in order to be ready for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup.

"I made a conscious effort after the drinks break that I'm going to go hard between 34-40 overs so we can get 340-350. Once I got out, the new batsman had to take time. These are the things we need to look into with the World Cup nearby. We would like to score those 15-20 runs extra but at the same time, good to see us chip our way to a balanced total."

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been a thorn in the flesh for the New Zealand batter from the first match of the series. They both bagged in total six wickets from the match and made the life of kiwi batsmen hard on the pitch.

"They are always ready to bowl for you and pick wickets, which is key. They are not content to go wicket-less for 40 runs in their quota, they'd rather have more wickets for 60. That mind-set is crucial for us and as is Rohit and Shikhar at the top."

Rohit Sharma has been in a top notch form in 2019. He once again scored substantial 87 runs in the match which also won him the man of the match award. His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan too scored a 67-ball 66 due to which both the batsmen were able to put up a 150-run partnership for the opening wicket, which laid a solid foundation for India’s innings. Sharma praised his partner in crime and stated that they both know each other well since they play together from a long time.

"Good feeling (on his performance) but most importantly, we won the game. We never knew how the pitch is going to play to start with. But as the game went on, we understood what the par score would be.

"We know each other since long and have a good understanding. Important for the team to get a good start and I have always enjoyed batting with Shikhar. I am sure it's the same for him too," Rohit said.