India skipper Virat Kohli defended his rather surprising decision of batting first against South Africa in the 3rd T20I at Bengaluru by saying that he wanted the 'Men in Blue' to get out of their comfort zone and hence opted to bat first in a bid to get a big total on board against the Proteas.

On Sunday evening, Kohli left many cricket fans and pundits bewildered after electing to bat in the 3rd T20I against the Proteas at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, a ground which is historically preferred for big chases.

After a brisk start, the hosts' inning went haywire as they kept losing wickets at regular interval and were able to manage only 134/9 in their stipulated 20 overs. In reply, the Proteas, led by their skipper Quinton de Kock, reached the target with utmost ease, losing only one wicket in 16.5 overs and drew the series 1-1.

"Yes we wanted to go for a big score, exactly why we batted first. In the past we've felt we've been 20-30 runs short batting first in T20I cricket which has cost us the game. The idea was to come out of our comfort zone, and try to get that big score because we're batting till No. 9. But we quickly realised the pitch didn't allow us to do that," Kohli said while speaking at the post-match press conference.

"The start we got, I think we could have reassessed to 170 instead of thinking of 200. The pitch didn't allow us to get to that total. We kept losing wickets, not taking anything away from South Africa. They bowled the right areas, it was a combination of good bowling, not great decision making.

"But these kinds of games will keep happening, as long as we're wanting to come out of our comfort zones as a team and putting ourselves in situations which could be the case in big games in big tournaments, that's the idea behind it," he added.

The Indian batting mainstay also added that the team will keep taking risks in the shortest format of the game while preparing for next year's World T20.

"We will have to take risks in T20. If you want to win a game of cricket you have to take risks. Nothing is a given before you start playing. I think as a team if we are willing to get out of our comfort zone a lot more then we will be unphased with what happens at the toss.," he said.