India skipper Virat Kohli lamented 45 minutes of poor cricket by his side after they were knocked out by New Zealand in a thrilling 2019 ICC World Cup semi-final at Manchester on Wednesday.
India were set a target of 240 runs by the Kiwis but a horror start by the top-order cost the team dear before they ultimately fell to a 18-run defeat. The Men in Blue quickly found themselves reeling at 5-3 in the chase with the openers and Kohli falling cheaply to New Zealand’s pacers.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja raised India’s hopes with a defiant 77 off 59 deliveries but it proved to be too tall an order in the end as New Zealand booked their second World up final appearance on the trot.
“The game pretty much changed in those first 40 minutes when we were batting,” Kohli said after the loss.
“The pressure created was immense in those first 40, 45 minutes. And when you lose 3 for 5 it is very difficult to come back into the game.”
The India skipper stated that the loss to the Kiwis was a bitter pill to swallow for his team who had topped the round-robin phase with just one loss in eight games.
“Of course, very disappointed to just go out on the basis of 45 minutes of bad cricket is saddening and it breaks your heart also, because you have worked so hard throughout the tournament to build momentum,” said Kohli.
“You finish No. 1 in the table and then a spell of bad cricket and then you are out of the tournament completely. But you have to accept it.
“We are sad, but we are not, you know, devastated because of the kind of cricket that we played in this tournament. We know where we stood as a team and today we were not good enough and that is the nature of this tournament. A bad day in the knockout stage and you are out of the tournament.”
Meanwhile, Kohli’s poor form in World Cup knock-out clashes continued on Wednesday with the right-hander perishing for just one run to Trent Boult. The India superstar had been dismissed for scores of nine and one in the 2011 and 2015 World Cup semi-finals previously.
The 29-year-old’s frustration with the dismissal was clear to see as he flung his bat into the air following an unsuccessful review of the lbw decision.
“It is very disappointing not turning up when the team wanted me to. Obviously, it feels bad. Everyone gets disappointed when they get out so it was a natural reaction,” rued Kohli.
