Why Pandya bowled the last over instead of Bumrah or Bhuvneshwar

Amid all the rain, wash out fears and then an 8-over thriller with every possible twist and turns, one aspect slipped under the radar – the street-smart captaincy of Virat Kohli.

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid all the rain, wash out fears and then an 8-over thriller with every possible twist and turns, one aspect slipped under the radar – the street-smart captaincy of Virat Kohli.

Defending 67 on a damp pitch that was just not ready to allow the batsmen to hit through the line, Kohli marshaled his troops with a definite plan, albeit with a little help from MS Dhoni.

Kohli used his two lethal weapons Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in a manner that was unpredictable to say the least.

Bhuvneshwar finished his quota of 2 overs at the half-way mark of the innings and Bumrah, the last over specialist, was introduced in the penultimate over.

"We thought if we can take the run-rate up, it's not going to be so easy. Rohit and MS (Dhoni) came up with Bumrah bowling the second last, and Hardik Pandya bowled the last over well,” explained Kohli at the post-match presentation.

Bumrah, like always, delivered the goods. He struck in the very first ball of the seventh over, removing the dangerous Henry Nicholls for 2. He gave away only 7 runs that allowed Pandya a cushion of 18 runs in the last over.

There was an injury scare in the last over when Pandya stopped a bullet-like shot from de Grandhomme but the Indian all-rounder completed the over without a fuss and India emerged victorious by 6 runs to clinch the series 2-1.

"When Hardik got hurt, I was thinking god forbid if I had to bowl the last four balls," said Kohli seeing the funny side of Pandya's spirited fielding effort in the final over.

"We have won a few on the trot and it makes us very proud. This stadium is beautiful, the outfield wonderful and the crowd made it special. I am surprised there were no games here earlier," he added.

The Greenfield Stadium hosted its first ever international match.

"I think we were really happy to get a game. This crowd deserved to watch some action. Ever since the ODIs started, we expected them to give a good fight. We were nervous to start here, with the damp pitch," said Kohli after India won the eight overs a side contest.