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Indian skipper Virat Kohli did not have a good outing in the first One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday. Not only Kohli-led India lost the battle by 66 runs, but the captain himself also failed to score valuable runs from the willow.
Kohli scored 21 off 21 deliveries with two fours and one six. However, for the viewers’ point of view, even the short innings of the Delhi-lad provided a good dose of entertainment, especially the maximum he hit against Aussie pacer Pat Cummins.
The six from the 32-year-old was termed as the ‘best shot of the day’ by on-air commentators. It all happened in the ninth over of India’s chase of 375 runs when Cummins bowled a short of a good-length ball which drifted down the leg side.
Kohli saw the opportunity and came up with bottom-handed flick which helped the white leather to sail over backward square leg boundary.
Here is the video:
How does Virat Kohli do stuff like this?! 😂🤯#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/yHZIYG19Nb
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) November 27, 2020
Batting unit showed positive intent: Kohli
In the match, Australia, after choosing to bat first, posted a massive 374/6 on the scoreboard. Skipper Aaron Finch (114) and batsman Steve Smith (105) slammed fantastic centuries to dominate Indian bowling attack completely.
In reply, India could only manage to reach 308/8, losing the contest by 66 runs. Only Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan shined with the bat for the visiting team. While Hardik scored a brilliant 70-ball 90 runs, Dhawan smashed 74 runs from 86 deliveries.
After the loss, Indian leader Kohli admitted the errors they committed in the game, especially in the fielding.
“Got enough time to prepare. Don’t think there can be any excuses. Probably the first long game we’ve played in a while, been playing T20 cricket. Probably that’s something that can have an effect. Body language wasn’t great after around 25 overs. If you don’t take your chances against top-quality opposition, they’ll make you pay. Unfortunately, Hardik is not fit enough to bowl, and we don’t have other allround options to pick from either, someone like Stoinis or Maxwell,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation.
Kohli also revealed the reason behind the attacking approach taken by Indian batsmen in the first ODI. He said that they are committed to play positive cricket and will display the same intent in the upcoming games as well.
“From the batting point of view, we had a chat briefly now – all the batsmen committed to it, which is why you saw us playing with intent. I think we gave ourselves the best chance. Hardik’s innings was the best example of that. As a batting unit, we committed nicely to positive cricket, and we are going to do that in the future as well,” added Kohli.
