Team India took a 1-0 lead in the 3 match ODI series after defeating Windies in the 2nd ODI by 59 runs courtesy an exceptional century from skipper Virat Kohli. He went on to smash his 42nd ODI century and is just 8 centuries away from breaking the record of Sachin Tendulkar for most centuries in the 50 overs format.
The skipper was also adjudged the Player of the Match courtesy his match-winning knock and he was pretty satisfied with the fact that the century came at a time when his team needed him. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were dismissed cheaply and Kohli stated that it was very important for him to step up.
“Shikhar and Rohit didn’t get a big one so it was important for me to step up. We have done well when one of the top three has scored runs. We wanted to bat first as the ball was sticking a bit. We knew anything above 270 would be challenging. Batting became a bit easy because of the rain but I was hoping that one wicket would put pressure on them,” said Kohli in the post-match presentation.
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He also clarified why Kuldeep Yadav has been picked ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal in both the matches. He stated that the number of left-handers and the variations from Kuldeep made him a more lethal option than Chahal.
“Kuldeep is picked because of the number of left-handers, his variations work better and that’s why he is preferred over Chahal. Iyer has a nice attitude as well and is a confident player. Got the pressure off me by scoring quick runs and then added those extra runs in the end.”
Meanwhile, Windies skipper Jason Holder expressed his disappointment after the defeat. “We bowled well and the game was under control. We lost crucial wickets at the end. Players need to take responsibility and take the game deep. Batsmen have been letting us down too often and they need to take responsibility.”
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, batting for the first time for India in the last 18 months looked in great touch and shared a match-winning stand with Virat Kohli. He scored 71 which included some exceptional shots. He stated that they were eyeing a score of 250 and playing for India A in this ground earlier helped him pace his innings to perfection.
“Playing for India A helped me paced the innings on this ground. Plan was to build a partnership without taking risks. Virat supported me well with ones and twos. He told me to bat atleast till 45th over. I want to stay consistent and contribute to the team.”