Auckland: The loss still rankles him but Virat Kohli on Thursday said he can't really bring himself to think of revenge when India take on New Zealand for the first time after the Kiwis sent his side packing from the ODI World Cup last year.
The Black Caps defeated pre-tournament favourites India by 18 runs in the semifinals of the showpiece in England and Friday's tour-opening T20 International is the first clash between the two sides since then. Kohli has spoken repeatedly about how devastating the loss was for him personally.
"Even if you want to think of revenge, these guys are so nice you cannot get into that zone," said Kohli at the pre-match press conference.
"We get along really well with these guys and it's all about being competitive on the field. As I said in England, they are probably one side that has set the example for teams to play international cricket," he reasoned.
Lauding the affable demeanour of the Kane Williamson-led side, Kohli said they are great ambassadors for the sport. "...they obviously want to bring out the best they can in every ball and every game, they are intense in their body language, they are not nasty, they are not doing things which are not acceptable on the field," he pointed out.
Williamson and his men had drawn effusive praise for their grace in the aftermath of a heartbreaking World Cup final loss to England, a game that was decided on boundary count after scores were tied.
"It is not about any kind of revenge - it is two quality sides playing good cricket. It is a challenge to beat New Zealand here and we are totally up for it," Kohli said.
On to cricketing matters and the India skipper said the Kiwis are favourites in home conditions and he would not make the mistake of taking them lightly despite the recent injury setbacks.
"They will have slight home advantage but we have played a lot here in the past seasons. Every series is a fresh start and New Zealand in New Zealand is obviously a bigger challenge than playing them
back in India. So we definitely have to be at our best game,"
he said.