I’m impressed with how we finished: Kohli

Auckland: A rearguard action from the Indian lower-order saw the visitors make a match of the second ODI after the New Zealand bowlers sent the top half of the Indian batting packing at Eden Park on Saturday. And skipper Virat Kohli said that the way the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Navdeep Saini batted at the end of the innings was a treat for the team.

“Two good games, and it’s great for the fans. I’m impressed with how we finished. We let things slip away from 197-8 to 270+ in the first half but came back strongly with the second half of our batting. We were in trouble with the bat, but Saini and Jadeja played really well, as did Shreyas (Iyer),” he said.

India have hand an unassailable lead to New Zealand after losing the first two ODIs in the three-game series, but Kohli said that it wasn’t that big a deal as the focus this year is on Tests and T20Is.

“ODIs aren’t too relevant this year compared to Tests and T20s, but to find people who can play that way under pressure is a big revelation for us and a big plus,” he said.

Kohli said that there could be a few changes in the playing XI in the final game of the series as they have nothing to lose.

“We could consider changes in the final game, since we have nothing to lose now. We’ll play expressive cricket and not worry too much about the result. It’s upto the individuals to fight till the end,” he said.

Asked if there was any special message sent to Saini and Jadeja during their partnership, Kohli said: “We didn’t send them any messages, because those aren’t what your instincts are telling you to do. We didn’t know how good Saini could be with the bat, so if the lower order could be that good, then it inspires the middle order and the top order to step it up too.”

IANS