After winning another ODI series against Windies, which was India’s last action in 2019, the Indian captain Virat Kohli claimed that it was one of best years in Indian cricket.
On Sunday (22nd December), during the series-decider third and final ODI of the series at Cuttack, the hosts India successfully chased the 316 runs target. Chasing down that target, the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul provided another good start as they put the 122 runs partnership. While Rohit scored 63 runs, Rahul scored 77 runs.
Skipper Virat Kohli then handled that innings, but the other batsmen were losing the wickets cheaply. Shreyas Iyer (7), Rishabh Pant (7) and Kedar Jadhav (9) all failed to reach the double-digit scores. In the crucial period, Ravindra Jadeja put a 58-run partnership with Kohli for the sixth wicket.
When Virat Kohli was dismissed after scoring the brilliant 85 runs off 81 balls (9 fours), India still needed 30 runs off 23 balls. Kohli admitted that he was nervous when he was moving towards the dressing room. But Jadeja handled that situation brilliantly while Shardul Thakur stunned everyone with an outstanding furious cameo knock. In the end, Jadeja was batting on 39 runs off 31 balls (4 fours), and Thakur was not out on 17 runs off six balls (2 fours and only six) as India reached the target in 48.4 overs after losing six wickets.
In the presentation ceremony, the Player of the Match award winner Virat Kohli said, “Having done it so many times you obviously have bit more calmness about it, all you need is a mini partnership and the opposition will start to crumble. Shardul and Jaddu finishing is very good to see, these guys finishing the game is a much bigger thing. I had a nervous look when I walked back, but when I watched Jaddu he looked very confident.”
We will keep chasing the World Cup – Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli claimed 2019 was one of the best years in Indian cricket, except the horrific 30 minutes in the semi-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He has further added that they will keep chasing their World Cup dream.
Kohli said, “It’s been one of the best years in Indian cricket and apart from that 30-minutes at the World Cup, its been a beautiful year. We will keep chasing the World Cup, we have that vision in place.”
The Indian captain lauded the top performances of the Indian fast bowlers in recent times. He feels that it is a huge statement when the fast bowlers have taken away the attention from the spinners.
Kohli added, “Having a bunch of fast bowlers is a brilliant thing to have in Indian cricket and them taking the attention away from the spinners is a huge statement. We have it in us to win series overseas and our pacers deserve it fully.
We are in the process of trying to find how people react to pressure – the Indian captain
Virat Kohli has also clarified that they are in the process to find out the talented youngsters who can perform under pressure.
He said, “We are in the process of trying to find how people react to pressure. It’s just about identifying those people and that’s something we will keep striving for.”
India’s one of the biggest achievements in this year was winning their first-ever bilateral Test and ODI series in Australia. Later, the Indian team also thrashed the hosts New Zealand in the five-match ODI series (by 4-1).