In Wellington, the cricket lovers witnessed another thriller of a contest in the space of three days. Consecutively for the second time, India and New Zealand fought in the super over to decide the match-winner. But there were no changes in the results. Virat Kohli and Co. went on to register the victory in the fourth T20I match.
India didn’t have a good start in the 4th T20I match. The Men in Blue had lost four wickets within nine overs. However, Manish Pandey played a significant knock to help visitors to set the target of 166 runs.
And, at one point in time, it looked, India will lose the match. But soon India made an entry into the game. It was the game-changer over of Shardul Thakur which brought them back in some style.
Skipper Kohli said that matches against New Zealand have taught him to be patient and to utilise the opportunity judiciously.
“There’s something new that I’ve learned, that you’ve just got to stay calm in the game, observe what’s happening and if the opportunity comes then you capitalize on it.”
“It feels good when you’re out of the game and get yourself back in, it really shows the character of the team.”
Virat Kohli’s strategy for Wellington Super Over:
Jasprit Bumrah had conceded 13 runs in the super over. As Rohit Sharma was rested in the game, India had Sanju Samson as the choice of an opener who hasn’t performed well. Thus, Kohli was a bit confused about whether to send Samson or himself in the super over. But the captain took the final call to go with him and KL Rahul after having a brief chat with the latter.
“Initially, Sanju and KL were supposed to go given they can strike the ball well, but I went in because I was more experienced and in a pressure situation it was important for me to handle things.”
“I haven’t been part of a super-over for too long but happy to have got my team across. I thought Sanju was fearless. This was his chance to take things away.”
“We were playing well in the situation looking at how well the opposition played. We are very proud of how we went about our business today.”
In the fourth T20I match, Thakur bowled his heart out. In the last over, he picked two wickets of set batsmen; Ross Taylor and Seifert to lead the game to super over.