New Zealand skipper Tom Latham heaped praise on Virat Kohli’s match-winning knock in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 against the Black Caps on Sunday, October 22 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala. He expressed that Team India batter played a fantastic knock, and has an answer to most of their plans. India won the match by four wickets, chasing down 274 runs.
Virat Kohli slammed 95 runs in 104 deliveries at a strike rate of 91.35. He smashed eight boundaries and two sixes during the knock. India was in a spot of bother losing wickets at regular intervals. However, Virat Kohli kept one end strong. He missed out on a century but powered India to their fifth win of the tournament in as many matches. Speaking about the batting masterclass by Virat Kohli, Tom Latham said,
“Kohli played a fantastic innings. Controlled the tempo and the rest could bat around him. As a captain, you have to be proactive but also work to your plans. Think about match-ups. Virat has a response to most plans.”
I don’t think we capitalised: Tom Latham
Batting first, New Zealand lost both their openers Devon Conway and Will Young cheaply. However, Rachin Ravindran and Daryl Mitchell helped them recover with a 159-run partnership. Daryl Mitchell slammed 130 runs, while Rachin scored 75. New Zealand seemed on course for a 300-plus total. However, Indian bowlers struck back to restrict them to 273.
“We didn’t capitalise in the last ten overs (with the bat). India bowled well in the death and we left a few runs out there. With the ball, we never got a double breakthrough. I don’t think we capitalised, 30-40 short,” said Tom Latham.
“From a batting point of view, Ravindra and Daryll gave the perfect blueprint. That are positions we want to be in, and when we get things right at the back end, we are dangerous,” he added.
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