The dejected Indian skipper gave all credits to the opponents after losing the ODI series 3-0 on the Kiwi soil. Kohli admitted that his team did not deserve to win as the hosts were far better.
Kohli explains the whitewash
Kohli believes that New Zealand showed better “composure under pressure” and hence they were the deserving winners of the 50-over series. The three-match series saw Indians getting whitewashed by the Kiwis and breaking a 30-year-old record. Indians had faces whitewash in ODI last in 1989 under the captaincy of Dilip Vengsarkar against West Indies.
Virat Kohli after such poor innings tried to figure out what actually happened in the series. He explained, “The first game, we were pretty much in the contest. Again, it boils down to the chances we didn’t grab. And all three games, I thought, the way we fielded and the composure with the ball – I don’t think that was enough to win games of cricket at the international level.”
He further opined that Indians were not good with the ball and failed to provide important breakthroughs. The fielding was terrible as well and the visiting captain hence told, “So didn’t deserve to be on the winning side at all in the series. Haven’t played so badly, but if you don’t grab your chances at this level then teams are going to hurt you.”
Also Read: ODI Whitewash For India After 30 Years
More intensity showed by New Zealand
Fortunately, Indians had a good T20I series where the visitors had a clean sweep. Speaking about the same Kohli recalled, “We played really well in the T20 series, a bit more experience there. Here in the ODIs a couple of new guys still finding their feet at the international level, so a good experience for them (Agarwal and Shaw).”
He further added that New Zealand wanted to make a strong comeback and accordingly played with a lot more intensity than his team. Their efforts in the tricky moments paid off according to the Indian skipper.
“Obviously New Zealand was keen to come back and get few wins under their belt after the T20 series and they played with a lot more intensity than we did. And in the crunch moments they were better in the field, better with the ball and better with the bat as well. We didn’t deserve to win because of the way we did not show enough composure under pressure and New Zealand did so. They deservedly won three-nil.”
