Vadodara, Jan 11 Virat Kohli shed light on his match-winning knock of 93 against New Zealand in the series opener and explained that his intent stemmed from a clear understanding of his position in the batting order.
The former captain demonstrated a model of how to chase a target as a batter by getting after the score quicky and decisively, whilst also executing that model in India’s four-wicket win over New Zealand at the Kotambi Cricket Stadium in Vadodara.
India had lost Rohit Sharma (for 26) in the powerplay, but Kohli was quick to react with an aggressive start after such an early loss by hitting 6 fours in his first 20 balls and by not allowing New Zealand to dictate his scoring pattern after Sharma's dismissal.
"Well, the basic idea is I bat at No.3," Kohli said after winning the Player-of-the-Match award for his 93 off 91 balls. "So if the situation is a bit tricky, I back myself to counterattack now rather than just trying to play the situation in because some ball has your name on it."
The aggression was controlled rather than reckless. Kohli was clear that intent did not mean abandoning discipline. “But at the same time, you don’t play outrageous shots. You still stick to your strengths, but you back yourself enough to put the opposition on the back foot,” he said.
Kohli's aggressive style of play helped him form a significant partnership with Shubman Gill (partnership of 118 runs for the 2nd wicket) during that time in the chase, allowing him to swing the momentum firmly into India's favour. Kohli noted that during that partnership was when he felt India was firmly in control of the run chase.
“I just felt like if I push hard now in the first 20 balls, then we can probably string in a partnership straight after a wicket like Rohit’s where the opposition is going to go on the back foot,” he said. “And that actually ended up being the difference in the game.”
Although Kyle Jamieson took some late wickets, India won the match with an over remaining and hold a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series. Kohli played an amazing inning that set up the chase for victory and also allowed him to reach some big personal milestones. First, he reached the milestone of 28,000 International runs with a four in the 13th over off Adithya Ashok; he is now the fastest player to reach this milestone (624 innings) and did it 20 innings quicker than Sachin Tendulkar did.
Kohli also surpassed Kumar Sangakkara's total of 28,016 International runs to now become the second-highest run scorer in the history of International Cricket, behind only Sachin Tendulkar. It was also his 45th Player of the Match in ODI cricket; he is now third behind only Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar for most all-time.
Now only playing One Day Internationals after being retired from Test and T20 cricket, Kohli took time to think about his career just before the last ball of the match was bowled. “Honestly, if I look back at my whole journey, it’s nothing short of a dream come true for me,” he said. “I’ve always mentioned that I’ve always known my abilities. How much ability I had when I came in and I had to work for a lot more to get to the place I’m today and God has blessed me with way too much for me to complain about anything.”
“So I feel nothing but gratitude. I always look back at my whole journey with a lot of grace and a lot of gratitude in my heart and I feel proud about it,” Kohli said.
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