IND vs WI: Went in to stay positive, happy with my intent, says Virat Kohli after hitting 30th T20I fifty
India Today
India vs West Indies, 2nd T20I: Ex-captain Virat Kohli said that he wanted to stay positive when he went in and was happy with his intent during the 52-run knock on Friday.
India star Virat Kohli said that he was happy with his positive intent during his 30th T20I fifty against West Indies in the second T20I of the three-match series in Kolkata on Friday. Kohli, who scored a 41-ball 52 in the 2nd T20I, lauded the young left-hand duo of Venkatesh Iyer and Rishabh Pant for batting beautifully and helping India get those 10 extra runs in the end.
Kohli and Pant scored sublime half-centuries to propel India to a competitive 186 for 5 after being asked to bat first at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Pant and Iyer had formed a 76-run stand for the fifth wicket. Sent into bat, India got off to a bad start as the hosts lost opening wicket Ishan Kishan (2) in the second over.
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The left-handed batter was dismissed by Sheldon Cottrell. Virat Kohli then joined skipper Rohit Sharma in the middle and after the end of powerplay overs, India's score read 49/1. The 49-run stand for the second wicket between Rohit and Virat was cut short by Roston Chase as the spinner sent Rohit (19) back to the pavilion in the eighth over and this brought Suryakumar Yadav to the middle.
However, the right-handed batter went back to the pavilion after scoring just 8 runs and the hosts were reduced to 72/3 in the 10th over. In the final six overs, India managed to add 76 more runs to their total, taking the score past the 180-run mark.
"For me, it's always been an opportunity to bat well in different situations for the team, today when I went in I decided to be positive, then we lost a few wickets," Virat Kohli told broadcasters after India's innings.
"I wanted to continue in the same way, probably disappointed to get out at the time I did because I set up the game nicely for me to go hard in the last 4-5 overs which is the way I bat, which is my strength. I was happy that I went out with clear intent today, not thinking so much about whether I should try my shots or not and it came off. It's a nice way to start that innings for myself," Kohli added.
