Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 (IANS) India captain Shubman Gill on Sunday said the best way to get the most out of Virat Kohli is to let him be himself, after the talismanic batter’s unbeaten 139 off 88 balls powered India to an eight-wicket win over West Indies in the first ODI here at the Greenfield International Stadium.
Gill made 110 and shared a 151-run stand with Kohli, who hit an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls, including crossing the 15,000 runs mark in the format, as India chased down 296 with 50 balls to spare and go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
“Honestly when I got out, I thought I should have finished the game. But it was a satisfying innings for me. He’s batting superbly and I think he’s enjoying the game a lot more, playing with freedom, those are the facts of his batting and he always had the game, the ability to clear the boundary at will, he’s doing that right now.
“Someone like him, who’s won so many games for India, you let him be and on the day he will win the matches for you,” said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony on Sunday.
He also lauded wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, whose 4-40 pulled India back into the game after West Indies openers Justin Greaves and John Campbell had put on 135 runs for the opening stand.
“Someone like Kuldeep, especially in the middle overs if he is bowling well, he is a wicket-taker. We were on the backfoot with their opening partnership, he got us back in the game, at one point it looked like keeping them to 300 was great.”
Gill also said India were still looking for more depth in the batting. “Ideally, yes, we would like an eighth batting option: someone who can contribute at least 20-30 runs. We weren’t able to get the scores we wanted, but we are open to trying different combinations to see what works for us.”
West Indies captain Shai Hope admitted that the visitors failed to make the most of a strong start. “For sure, we could definitely put more runs on the board. When you come in on surfaces such as good surfaces here in India, you have to make sure you put a good score on the board.
“Maybe 60 to 80 runs short, to be fair. But then in the way you’re bowling, when you’re trying to defend a target, close to 290, I think you gotta make sure everything goes right for you.”
West Indies were going at more than seven an over at one stage before Kuldeep’s spell derailed them, and Hope agreed the middle overs cost them. “That’s it – when you got a platform like that, I thought the guys started really well. It’s something that we were trying to improve on a lot for the last couple of series, the opening pair and must commend the guys for the start they gave us.
“They laid a very good foundation, but then we got stuck there in the middle and then it made it a lot more difficult for us in the back end to get a competitive total. Well again, we just got to grasp those key moments. Like I said, if we got a bit more runs, you never know, it could have changed the context of the game,” he added.
Hope also pointed out the dropped catches of Gill on 11 and of Kohli on 125. “Also we had a couple of chances when we fielded, so we never knew what could happen there with that 290 score.
“You always have to believe that whatever runs you got on the board, you can defend it. But we always know that there’s a lot more runs you can get in on these types of conditions. But you just have to take all the learnings from it and find ways to improve as a team.”
Greaves, who struck a maiden ODI hundred, did not take the field during India’s chase, and Hope was unsure of the extent of the problem. “Hopefully (he’s fine). We’ve got to see now what’s going on, but it’s unfortunate he couldn’t finish the game for us today.” Asked about the remaining two ODIs and his own record in India, Hope was brief. “Yes, for sure, I need some (runs).”
–IANS
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