IND vs NZ | You play as a team to do well as a team, admits Virat Kohli
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Following the 2-0 series whitewash against New Zealand, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has admitted that the outlook of the series will be looked as a team’s performance rather than the individual’s putting score on the board. He has also played down any spat with his Kiwi counterpart Kane Williamson.
It was India’s third-worst overseas loss, with the previous two coming against New Zealand as well. In the 2020 series, it was the Indian batsmen who let the team down with an average performance, scoring 18 runs every wicket. Following the drubbing, Virat Kohli was adamant to judge the team’s performance as a whole and not a bunch of individuals putting their hands up for the team. In particular, Kohli was quick to defend the middle-order duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara on Monday.
“Whether five people score 50-60 each or one person makes 150 like Pujara did in Australia, our aim to have a big score on the board. If that doesn't happen collectively, you must think about that rather than thinking about what individuals have done. No one thinks like that. You play as a team and you want to do well as a team,” Kohli admitted in the post-match press conference.Â
He added that Pujara’s contribution in the Australia series is not to be forgotten, with the right-hander scoring 521 runs in the five-match series, which Kohli’s men won 2-1. However, he pointed out that taking things in isolation is often bad for collective failure as a team.Â
"If you take the Australia series, Pujara made the biggest contribution there. It was the first time we won a series there. If you take things in isolation, you will find lots of things to use as excuses, that this didn't happen or something didn't happen because of that. When you play collectively, your aim is to put 300-350 on the board.”Â
"Jinks [Ajinkya Rahane] is one of those players who has been very solid for us in Test cricket. I don't look at averages and numbers and those things too much. It is about impact performances. Has he been able to make enough impact performances for the team? The answer for me is yes,” he added.Â
When Kohli was asked about his reaction and behaviour on the field, it irked the Indian skipper to retaliate to the reporter, answering that the details need to be sorted out beforehand asking him a question. The Indian skipper was also cross on the situation being blown out of proportion by the reporter.Â
"You need to find out exactly what happened and then come with a better question. You can't come here with half questions and half details of what happened. And also, if you want to create controversy, this is not the right place to be. I had spoken to the match referee and he had no issues with what happened," the Indian captain signed off.Â
When asked about his on-field behaviour, Virat Kohli gets tetchy at the post-series presser #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/vtGXm6Xe1A
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 2, 2020
