It was one of those rare occasions when India’s famed top-order of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli all failed together, and the skipper who scored the highest among the three said, it is on days like this that the lower-order batsmen need to step up.
After the top-order collapse, it was left to the likes of Hardik Pandya (30), MS Dhoni (17) and Ravindra Jadeja (54) to take India to a respectable total. The troika helped India eventually post 179.
“In a tournament like World Cup, the lower order has to score at times if the top-order gets out quickly. Hardik batted well, MS absorbed the pressure well and Jadeja played well,” Kohli said after the match.
“It was going to be very different in the second innings. And of course, there wasn’t much in the pitch when we came to bowl. We have to be precise in every department.”
Meanwhile New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson scored a fantastic half-century to help his side get over the line after they lost wickets early on.
“Obviously, warm-up games don’t carry the same intensity, but it was good for us. Henry’s (Nicholls) good, he can bat at the top and in the middle. And with Tom’s finger being injured, we wanted to have Munro up there to give us options. Facing a quality side like India and scoring some runs is always good,” he said.
