Luckily we got away with a tie: Virat Kohli

India vs West Indies 2nd ODI: Kohli’s remarks were not a burst of emotions after an adrenaline rushing last-ball finish which did not give a winner after more than 7 hours of cricket. It was an honest assessment of what could have been had the lower middle order of the Windies showed enough maturity.

Such was Shai Hope’s brilliance during the chase that Virat Kohli’s world-beating efforts became secondary in sports pages of most of the morning newspapers. It in fact, forced the Indian captain to consider his team lucky to get away with a tie.

"It was a great game of cricket. Credit to the Windies, they showed a great fight. We had a challenge in front of us today and luckily we got away with a tie and we'll take that at the end of the day." said Kohli, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his 129-ball 157-run unbeaten innings that saw him become the fastest to reach the 10,000-run mark by some distant.

Kohli’s remarks were not a burst of emotions after an adrenaline rushing last-ball finish which did not give a winner after more than 7 hours of cricket. It was an honest assessment of what could have been had the lower middle order of the Windies showed enough maturity. Chasing a target of 322, the visitors were well ahead of the chase courtesy a brilliant 143-run stand between Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer, who unfortunately missed out on his second consecutive ton, falling for a breathtaking 94.

Even after Chahal had given oxygen to India by picking up the wicket of Hetmyer, West Indies were strolling at 221 for 4 in 32 overs. Hope continued to go about his work, having no trouble whatsoever with Rovman Powell for company.

India’s wrist spinners, struggling to grip the ball because of the dew, still managed to keep India in the game. After Chahal, it was Kuldeep’s turn to keep the oxygen flow going for India when his wrong’un found the outside of Powell’s bat. West Indies needed 69 off 75 balls with five wickets and a well set Hope batting on 76; it should have been a walk in the park considering that Hope faced the last ball of the match. But remarkably, Windies failed to score less than run-a-ball and ended needing 14 off the last over and a boundary off the last ball to go away with a tie.  

"When the run rate fell under 6 I thought they had a good chance but Kuldeep (Yadav) got a wicket, (Yuzvendra) Chahal bowled a brilliant over and Umesh (Yadav)and (Mohammed) Shami closed it out.

 "The game nicely drifted in the last 7 overs and one boundary off Umesh off the shoe and one in the end, a couple of inches from Rayudu from pulling it in. That's how the game goes. I've enjoyed being a part of it and West Indies certainly deserved a draw for the way they played," said Kohli.

Giving Hope and Hetmyer full credit for their stellar show, the Indian captain did, however, expressed his surprise at the way the wicket behaved under lights. “After they were three down, Hetmyer and Hope stuck it out. They took on us and didn't give us any chance whatsoever. The pitch was drastically different in the second innings. We were looking at 275-280 only, but I got going and we got those extra runs,” Kohli said.

Kohli also defended his decision to bat first despite knowing that dew might play an important role in the outcome of the match. "It's something we decided pre-game, it was hot and humid. In big tournaments like in world cup, you might have to put runs on the board and defend. We have to embrace every challenge that comes our way."