Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh): New Zealand batter and centurion Daryl Mitchell, who registered his highest ODI score against India on Sunday during the league game of the ICC Cricket World Cup here, believes that star batter Virat Kohli's knock of 95 was the difference between the two teams in the match.
It was due to Mitchell's knock (130 off 127 balls) and his 159-run stand with Rachin Ravindra that New Zealand posted 273 on the board against India. But India rode on pacer Mohammed Shami's five-for (5/54) and Virat Kohli's magnificent knock to continue their unbeaten run in the marquee tournament.
"He's (Virat Kohli) (is) a world-class player and he'll go down as one of the greats of the game for a reason. A very good knock under pressure I thought and although he didn't get 100, he got his team across the line," Daryl Mitchell said after New Zealand's four-wicket loss.
Daryl Mitchell praised New Zealand's bowling effort and said the conditions got better for batting under lights. "I'm just really proud of our bowling unit tonight (Sunday night) and how they tried to do that for periods of time and in conditions which probably got better with the dew with the wicket," the right-handed batter added.
According to Daryl Mitchell, the Kiwis were 20-30 runs short of what could have been a winning total. "You obviously always want more runs, but at the same time, I thought the platform that we set and the way we wanted to go about it was in true Black Caps style. So, for us, we'll just keep chipping in and we'll work on a few things, and we'll be good to go next time," added Mitchell.
He also had high regard for the performance of Indian bowlers in the death overs. "We set the platform there at that sort of 35 over-mark, it was very similar to what India was at that stage and obviously we knew that India's got a world-class death-bowling unit and for us, it was trying to cash in at the end and I thought the way India bowled was pretty special obviously," Mitchell said.
Daryl Mitchell was aggressive against chinaman Kuldeep Yadav early on in his innings and the Kiwi said his plan was to put pressure on the in-form wrist spinner. "I've known Kuldeep (Yadav) for a while now, he's a great man and we get on well off the field and yeah for me it's just keep trying to find ways to put pressure on their bowlers, it's not just him it's the same with every bowler that we come up against," he said.
"It's about trying to find ways to put pressure on them. He's done really well over the last few years for India and it's awesome to see him have some success. You come in with plans, you come up with ways you want to play different guys. And for me today, that was obviously an option that worked," the Kiwi batter added.
Daryl Mitchell also lauded teammate Rachin Ravindra for his 87-ball 75-run knock.
"It was awesome to bat with Rach (Rachin), he's obviously in rich form at the moment and yeah, we were just having some fun out there and taking in what it is to be part of an amazing World Cup, to play at grounds like this and at crowds like this," he added.
New Zealand, who is on the second spot in the points table as of now, next take on Australia at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium here on October 28.
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