New Delhi: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says India’s failure to make good starts cost them the ODI series against New Zealand and the team’s batters should take a leaf out of Virat Kohli’s book to understand how an innings should be paced while chasing difficult targets.
India went down in the third and final ODI in Indore by 41 runs to lose their first ever 50-over home series against New Zealand, continuing the trend of recent underwhelming results. Kohli top-scored with a 108-ball 124 but could not get a stable partner to steer the challenging chase of 338.
“Unless Virat Kohli got substantial support, it was always going to be difficult, and he got very little of it. The real problem for India throughout the series has been the starts. As they say, well begun is half done,”Gavaskar said on ‘Amul Cricket Live’ on JioStar.
“India never began well, and that’s one of the main reasons they weren’t able to chase these big scores,” he pointed out. India had lost half the side at 159, which severely dented their chances. The legendary former batter lauded Kohli for trying till the end and urged the others to emulate his mindset and consistency. “The thing about him is that he’s not tied down to an image.” agencies