NZ tour: India seek amends for World Cup loss
BENGALURU: Having avenged last year’s ODI series defeat against Australia by completing a great comeback series win on Sunday, Virat Kohli’s men will be brimming with confidence for their next assignment as they fly out to New Zealand for a limited-overs and Test series.
India have unfinished business against the Kiwis, who put them out in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals. The teams will faceoff for the first time after that.
New Zealand is a tough place to tour so it will be important to make a mark from ball one, skipper Virat Kohli said on the eve of the team’s departure.
“We want to bat well when we bat first, and in case we’re defending a low total we should be able to do that as well. Clarity of mind is really crucial because we’re playing in conditions that are not ours; we’ve to take even more intensity into that series to put the home team under pressure, set that sort of template from game one and build from there.
“We can’t afford to ease into the series after two games because then it will keep getting tougher. We’ll look to make a mark in the first game … play expressive cricket and be sure of what we want to do. Clarity of mind and execution is something we keep speaking about as a team, not thinking about what (to do) if things go wrong.”
India had a successful ODI series in New Zealand last year, winning 4-1; but they lost 1-2 in the T20Is. Kohli said: “We were very positive in how we played, very sure of what we wanted to do. The thing about playing away is if you’re able to put the home team under pressure, you can enjoy your cricket.”
Kohlis said the pressure is always on the home team and it can go up if the opposition does well. “You have to win at home, there’s that sort of feeling (for the hosts). So if you bring out your A game, you can really put them under pressure. That’s what we did last year, squeezed them in the middle overs, picked up wickets, the spinners were outstanding. We are looking forward to take that same intensity into the series.”
India begin their tour with a five-match T20I series starting on Friday. The five T20Is will be followed by three ODIs and a twoTest series. Kohli revealed that ahead of the final ODI against Australia, on Sunday, the players had discussed about the importance of leaving for a tour on a high. He said that winning the series against Australia has put them in the right frame of mind for the tour.
“We spoke of that at the huddle, that this is the last game we’re playing in the series and if we win, you go on a tour on a happy note. If you lose, it can go under the radar, you can brush it aside as ‘oh, it’s just one loss’. But when you win and win under pressure—the last two games were tough wins—it boosts your confidence, which we’re carrying forward. So, we are looking forward to the New Zealand tour. We played really well in 2019, and want to continue.”