IND vs NZ: 'Cracker of a game, good win boys,' Virat Kohli hails Team India after 1st T20I win, See Pic
Virat Kohli shared a series of pictures from India's six-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening Twenty20 International (t20I) on Friday.
"Cracker of a game! Good win, boys. @BCCI," the Indian captain wrote on his official Twitter account along with four pictures.
Cracker of a game! 👊🏼 Good win boys. 👏🏼😎 @BCCI pic.twitter.com/khWF2q2598
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 24, 2020
Chasing New Zealand's target of 204, Team India finished the match with an over and six overs to spare. Shreyas Iyer took charge of India's chase in the middle as he remained unbeaten on 58 runs from 29 balls. His match-winning knock included five boundaries and three sixes.
Iyer came out to bat when KL Rahul got out on the final ball of the 10th over and India still needed 89 runs more to win. Iyer had Shivam Dube on the other side for a bit before Manish Pandey joined him. The two remained not out till the end and 62-run stand ensured India went 1-0 up in the ongoing five-match series.
"Amazing to win a game overseas and finishing not out is special. We had lost quick wickets, so we had to build partnerships. We always knew we can score runs because this is a small ground.We are looking forward to similar support in the remaining games as well," Player of the Match Iyer said in a post-match interview on Friday.
Earlier in the day, after the BlackCaps posted a huge total of 203, the Indian boys had a poor start as they lost Rohit Sharma in the very second over of the chase. India's innings was brought back on track by Rahul and Kohli as they kept the scoring rate going. Rahul continued his excellent form as he smashed a 27-ball 56 before falling to Ish Sodhi in 10th over.
Kohli, who was playing his first T20I in New Zealand, contributed with crucial 45 from 32 balls.
"We enjoyed this. Landing two days before and playing a game like this, it was fantastic. Felt like 80% support was for us and the crowd was right behind us. You need that sort of push chasing 200+. We never spoke of the jetlag in the team. We didn't want any excuse. We just focused on what we needed to do to win.
We were looking forward to playing. We have done well in T20Is in the last one year. You can't be harsh on anyone on this sort of a pitch. I thought 230 was on at one point, but we pulled it back nicely," the Indian skipper heaped praise on his boys after India's win in the 1st T20I.