The Bowlers Stood Up And Took Control – Virat Kohli
Jan 26, 2020 at 4:10 PM
India came up with another complete performance as they won the second T20I at Auckland against New Zealand by seven wickets and 15 balls to spare, to take a 2-0 lead in the series. The Indian captain Virat Kohli was delighted by the performance of his team and gave credit to his bowlers for the win. The visitors’ bowlers restricted New Zealand to a paltry score of 132 after Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bat first.
India kept New Zealand in check and didn’t allow them to race away with the game. Shardul Thakur provided the first breakthrough when Martin Guptill looked to cleared the in-field but holed out to Indian captain Virat Kohli at mid-off.
India continued their domination.
Virat Kohli took another catch when Colin Munro could not get any timing when he looked to clear the off-side but only managed to spooned it to the Indian skipper. New Zealand just could not break the shackles as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Ravindra Jadeja provided two quick wickets when Colin de Grandhomme gave a simple caught and ball back to the bowler. Kane Williamson looked to change the gear after making 14 from 19 balls but his slog-sweep against Jadeja found Yuzvendra Chahal at deep fine leg. Bumrah was once again economical as he conceded only 21 runs in his four overs and also took a wicket. Furthermore, Mohammed Shami bowled tight line and length to give away only 22 runs in his four overs.
Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation, I think we backed it up with another good performance today especially with the ball. The bowlers stood up and took control. I think the lines and length we bowled today, sticking to one side of the wicket and being sure of what we wanted to bowl. It was a very good feature for us as a team. That helped us restrict New Zealand to such a low total. I think the pitch was good enough for a score of 160 in the first innings. We understood the angles of the field better, how the pitch was playing, how the New Zealand batsmen were approaching. We had to make a few changes and had to think on my feet as a captain”.
“I think Jadeja was outstanding, once again Chahal was a banker. Bumrah was amazing as well. I think we backed it up in the field. The surface gripped a bit. When you have a complete performance like that, it helps. This same side has won us two games. We need to bring our A-game again and we are up for the challenge. I think the dimensions of Hamilton are better than Auckland, it’s an even field for the bowler. I know New Zealand is going to bounce back hard”.
KL Rahul once again showed his class as he scored 57 runs, which was his back to back fifty. Shreyas Iyer also provided the support as he scored 44 and added 86 runs with the Indian opener.
The third T20I will take place at Hamilton on 29th January.