We left ourselves too much to get: Kohli

RAJKOT: India captain Virat Kohli admitted they didn’t show up with the bat in a chase that required quick scoring from the first over, after their 40-run defeat to New Zealand in the second Twenty20 here on Saturday.

“I mean I thought New Zealand were pretty good with the bat. At one stage we were looking for 220-30 but credit to Bumrah and Bhuvi to have pulled things back,” said Kohli after the loss.

“But eventually we were not good with the bat. When you are chasing 200, all batsmen need to chip in or one guy needs to go over (the strike rate of) 200. MS was very good in the end, but we left ourselves too much to get. That happens when you want to go for big shots.

“It has happened with a lot of batsmen where you don’t get to go on strike. Not during the early half of the innings. Maybe after 13-14 overs it started gripping. We lost the toss, we did not get to choose what we would have done. We were just not good enough on the day,” said Kohli.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson looked pleased with their victory. “Great partnership, and obviously Munners (Munro) getting a hundred was fantastic. When a batsman gets that many runs, the team will always get a big total. Guptill and Bruce gave good support and the bowlers did really well to defend it,” said Williamson after the match.

Munro, whose unbeaten 58-ball 109 fetched him the Manof-the-Match award, said the century was a reward for taking his chances. “I was here in the ‘A’ trip. It felt good with the bat but I kept getting out. I love batting at the top of the order, getting the team off to a flyer.”

New Zealand were pretty good with the bat. At one stage we were looking at 22030 but credit to Bumrah and Bhuvi for pulling things back. VIRAT KOHLI, after the 40-run defeat