"Not Many Holes In His Game": New Zealand Star In Awe Of Virat Kohli's Masterclass

Star batter Virat Kohli on Wednesday set up India's five-wicket win over New Zealand in the first ODI with an imperious 74, and an awestruck Kiwi pacer Jacob Duffy said there "was no hole" in the maestro's game. Kohli's knock came off just 51 balls, helping India chase down a revised target of 143 with 56 balls remaining in the rain-curtailed match. Duffy, who was Kohli's teammate in the title-winning Royal Challengers Bengaluru side in IPL 2026, has faced the brunt of Kohli's batting in the RCB nets.

"Yeah, it was a bit annoying, wasn't it?" Duffy joked at the post-match press conference.

"Yeah, small targets like that, if you get a guy to come out with that kind of intent to knock it off, it can break the chase pretty easily. And he's a pretty good guy to do it, quite impressive, wasn't he?

"He didn't struggle with the bounce. He got inside those hook shots, pull shots, and then he could whack you down the ground. No surprise, he's a good player. He's done it for a lot of years, and he did that to me in the nets a lot in Bangalore."

The 32-year-old, however, wondered if Kohli would have the same approach if India were setting a target instead of chasing.

"If they're batting first or there's a bigger score on the board, it would be interesting to see if he plays like that. I'm not sure, I don't know if he will.

"I won't give away all their scouting tips. I did get some intel at the nets in Bangalore, but there are not many holes in his game, to be fair.

"On small grounds like that, he uses the pace really well, and then he can hit you over your head as well. So, there are not many holes in that man's game," he added.

The right-arm pacer also lauded the performances of Indian bowlers, especially Gurnoor Brar (3/44), who scarred New Zealand with disconcerting bounce, and Arshdeep Singh (4/70).

The 6-foot-5-inch-tall Brar repaid skipper Shubman Gill's faith by intimidating the home batters with his speed and bounce in the company of Arshdeep as the visitors dismissed the Black Caps for a below-par 185 in 40.2 overs.

"Yeah, probably 180 at Eden Park is never going to be enough. Obviously, I think they bowled really well. They've got some big boys in that bowling team and they used the bounce of the surface really well.

"So, yeah, they did that well and we probably weren't at our best with the bat to start with. It's pretty tough to defend 180, and then they can just come hard like that and knock a few off pretty quickly."

New Zealand reduced India to 136/5 in the 22nd over, but Duffy said it was too little, too late by then.

"To be honest, probably a little bit too little, too late. But there's still something to gain from out there. We showed our intent for the series. We're not going to back down, we're going to come hard at these guys and show what we've got.

"In this situation, the short ball seemed to work a little bit, so that was the option, to put our stamp on the series, I guess."

Asked if defending targets is proving too difficult for the Kiwis given the conditions, he said, "It's a tough one. Yeah, it definitely plays a part. I think we're lying if we say it doesn't. Everyone wants to win the toss for a reason. I'm not saying it's impossible, don't get me wrong. It's not like it's huge, and it's not like we're giving up as soon as we've lost the toss.

"But as soon as you get a little bit of moisture in the wicket, I thought tonight there was a bit of wind around and we actually might not get that, but I guess the rain added that moisture that the dew would have otherwise.

"So when it skidded on like that, it sort of took away the tackiness and that tennis-ball bounce we saw in their innings. That's what I thought the ball did. Yeah, they batted hard."

Should the Kiwis have been more counter-attacking in their batting, just as the Indians were later?

"Yeah, it's a tricky one. Like I said, credit to them, they bowled very well. They extracted the bounce very well, and with very tall seamers they extracted that bounce. I think you saw that when the guys did try to lift the ante or play some shots, quite a few went straight up.

"I think we will adapt and adjust, and I think we're a good batting team. It's not going to happen again like that, I can't imagine. So, we'll adapt and go again," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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