Shreyas Iyer outstanding under pressure: Kohli
HAMILTON: Ross Taylor got the hundred but India captain Virat Kohli said it was Tom Latham’s 48-ball 69 that took away the momentum from his side in the high-scoring first ODI against New Zealand here on Wednesday.
It was the Black Caps’ highest ever chase in one-day international cricket.
Kohli also praised Shreyas Iyer who scored a 107-ball 103 for his maiden century.
“It was an outstanding performance by New Zealand. We thought 348 was good enough. Ross is the experienced batsman they have but Tom’s innings was the one that took away the momentum. Credit to Taylor and Tom,” Kohli said at the postmatch presentation ceremony.
India were below-par on the field with Kuldeep Yadav dropping a skier and bowlers doing a less than commendable job. “Look, we didn’t grab onto one chance, but we were decent. Something we need to keep (on) improving.
“We can’t focus too much (on negative things). Today, the opposition played better than us and they deserved to win,” Kohli said.
For India, Iyer stood out with his maiden ODI hundred.
The Indian captain also seemed satisfied with the performance by debutants Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw, who gave the team a 50-plus start even though they failed to get big scores.
“I think the debutants gave us a good start and hopefully they continue. (Shreyas) Iyer was outstanding getting his first ODI hundred under pressure, KL (Rahul) again. These are positives for us.”
‘PARTNERSHIPS KEY’
Stand-in skipper Latham said building partnership and holding their nerves in the crucial moments helped New Zealand cross the finish line in the highscoring opening ODI against India.
New Zealand recorded their highest-ever run chase of 348 runs during Wednesday’s victory.
“Great performance from the guys. It was nice to keep our composure at the end and get across the line,” Latham said at the post-match presentation. “For us it was about building partnerships. The total was a little more than what we would have liked to chase. But we managed to get off to a good start and keep wickets in hand.
“We saw how hard it was to defend with the left-right combination. It’s nice to make winning contributions. The way Ross played was fantastic.” India posted a huge 347 for 4 and Latham said his team will look to find their “perfect” game in the second ODI.
“We weren’t quite where we wanted to be with the ball. So we got to improve and hopefully we will play the perfect game at Eden Park.” Taylor, who was adjudged the Man of the Match for anchoring the chase, said the right-left combination and short boundaries helped New Zealand chased overhaul the total.
“It has been an interesting summer, so as to speak, good to get across the line. To restrict them under 350, gave us a chance. We were fortunate with the right-left combination and we targeted the short boundary. Tom came in and released the pressure of me,” he said.
“It’s been a happy hunting ground for me. Hopefully we can put up a good performance in the next game. It was nice to be there at the end after I got out thrice towards the end in the T20 series.”
India will take on New Zealand in the second ODI on Saturday in Auckland.