India’s successful chase of 301 in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara was the result of their attacking intent at the top, a point underlined by batting maestro Virat Kohli. According to Kohli, the willingness to attack early in the innings set the tone for the pursuit. India, chasing a challenging target, suffered an early setback when Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 26 inside the powerplay.
However, an aggressive approach from Kohli helped India regain the momentum and put themselves back in the game. Shubman Gill's 56 provided the perfect support. Kohli and Gill stitched a vital 118-run partnership for the second wicket, which became the backbone of India’s chase. In the middle, Shreyas Iyer contributed a much-needed 49.
"Well, the basic idea is I bat at No.3. So if the situation is a bit tricky, I back myself to counterattack now rather than just trying to play the situation in because some ball has your name on it," Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
"So there's no point waiting around for too long. But at the same time, you don't play outrageous shots. You still stick to your strengths, but you back yourself enough to put the opposition on the back foot. I just felt like if I push hard now in the first 20 balls, then we can probably string in a partnership straight after a wicket like Rohit's where the opposition is going to go on the back foot. And that actually ended up being the difference in the game."
During his innings, Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest player in history to reach 28,000 international runs, achieving the feat in just 624 innings — 20 fewer than the legendary Tendulkar.
"Honestly, if I look back at my whole journey, it's nothing short of a dream come true for me. I've always mentioned that I've always known my abilities. How much ability I had when I came in and I had to work for a lot more to get to the place I'm today and God has blessed me with way too much for me to complain about anything. So I feel nothing but gratitude. I always look back at my whole journey with a lot of grace and a lot of gratitude in my heart and I feel proud about it," Kohli said.