We were not competitive enough, admits Virat Kohli after losing 1st New Zealand Test

Resuming the fourth day’s play at 144/4, India lost their remaining six wickets inside 47 runs to get eventually bundled out for 191 runs in their second innings before the Black Caps chased down the meagre target of nine runs in just 1.4 overs without losing a wicket to seal a comfortable win.

India’s batting was one of the main reasons behind their defeat in the opening Test as they failed to put up a competitive score against New Zealand in both the innings. The visitors were earlier also bowled out cheaply for 165 runs in the first innings.

Speaking in the post-match presentation after New Zealand drubbing, the 31-year-old admitted that his side failed to put up a solid performance with the bat in both the innings, with Mayank Agarwal and Ajinkya Rahane being the only two batsmen for the side to have managed to find some momentum. 

“Toss turned out to be very important. As a batting unit we take pride in being competitive, but we weren’t. Even scoring 220-230 would’ve been good. That first innings put us behind and then the lead put us under more pressure,” Kohli said in a post-match presentation following the defeat.

Kohli, however, lauded his side’s bowlers for being competitive by putting up a good fight against the Black Caps.

“The bowlers toiled well. As a bowling group, we have taken pride in being competitive. Till the first seven New Zealand wickets, we were really good. Wanted to restrict the lead to under 100, but the last runs from their batsmen made things difficult. But bowlers can still be more disciplined, they were not as happy with their bowling performance. You don’t want to be too hard on guys like Shaw. He has played just 2 overseas Tests. He will figure a way. He will find a way to score runs,” Kohli said. 

“Mayank applied himself well, and he was the only other person apart from Rahane who got us any momentum with the bat. Our strength is to put big scores for our bowlers to bowl at and that was missing in this match,” the Indian skipper added. 

Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari resumed the second innings for India on Monday at their respective scores of 25 and 15. However, the duo failed to stay long at the crease and was dismissed in the second and third over of the day.

Tim Southee was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand with five wickets while Trent Boult also picked up four wickets for his side. 

Earlier, Ishant Sharma finished with figures of five for 68 while Ravichandran Ashwin (3 wickets), Jasprit Bumrah (1 wicket) and Mohammad Shami (1 wicket) also chipped in to help India bundle out New Zealand for 348 runs in their second innings.

Kane Williamson (89), Colin de Grandhomme (43), Ross Taylor (44) and Kylie Jamieson (44) all made significant contributions with the bat for the home side. 

The two sides will now lock horns in the second Test of the two-match series, beginning February 29 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.