WI vs IND | Feels good to get hundred when team wanted one, says Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli was delighted that he could step up to the task to score a vital century after both his senior partners Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma couldn’t get going. Kohli won the man-of-the-match award for his 120-run innings as India beat West Indies by 59 runs in the 2nd ODI.
After a string of half-centuries in the World Cup, Kohli was desperate to get one over the three-digit line. His delight, who looked more of a relief, was evident when he jumped in the air and pointed to the name on his back while celebrating No.42 in ODIs.
“Feels good to get a hundred when the team wanted me to get one. Shikhar and Rohit didn't get a big one. One of the top three has always got the big one. A senior man had to step up and today was my opportunity to step up,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation, reported Cricbuzz.
After India lost Dhawan early, Kohli walked in and blazed away. However, his partner Rohit never found the middle during his 34-ball stay at the crease. Eventually, Rohit mistimed one to the cover. Rishabh Pant soon followed in the footsteps of his vice-captain, as India slumped to 101/3. In walked a young Shreyas Iyer, looking to finally cement his place in India’s middle-order.
Iyer’s fluent 71 not only helped India over the 250-mark, but also eased a lot of worries among the selectors’ and team management camp. Kohli admitted that batting first was easier, and credited Iyer for the innings he played.
“Good outing with the bat. Exactly why we wanted to bat first. If you saw the later half of the West Indies innings, it was difficult to bat on. We knew that anything over 270 would be challenging. He (Iyer) is a very confident guy and has the right attitude. Really got the tempo going and took the pressure of me. After I got out, he got the extra runs as well,” Kohli said.
Chasing 280 to win, West Indies regained momentum with Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer, after losing two early wickets at the top. Although Lewis scored a fifty, and Nicolas Pooran looked in control for most of his 42-run cameo, India kept plucking away at the hosts with wickets. Kohli acknowledged that his bowlers did a fine job, even though the rain improved the conditions for batting.
“It was important to string in a lot of dot balls. The batting became a little easy thanks to the rain when Hetymer and Pooran were batting together. It was tough gripping the ball when it went into the outfield. It was about staying in there and hoping one wicket will put pressure on them and luckily we got the wickets,” Kohli added.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the way with the ball with his four-fer, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami picked up two each, and Khaleel Ahmed and Ravindra Jadeja chipped with one each.
