By Admin 
Virat Kohli played an important inning of 93 runs in 91 balls and made an important contribution in India winning the first match of the ODI series against New Zealand. For this brilliant performance, Kohli was chosen ‘Player of the Match’. Kohli said that he has always had confidence in his abilities. God gave him more than he expected.
Virat Kohli has won the ‘Player of the Match’ title for the 45th time in the ODI format. Kohli is at third position in the list of players who have won this title the most number of times. Sachin Tendulkar is at the top in this list, who has achieved this feat 62 times, while Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya (48) is at the second place. Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Shahid Afridi have won the ‘Player of the Match’ award 32-32 times.
After this match played at the BCA Stadium, when Kohli was asked how many ‘Player of the Match’ awards he has, he said, “To be honest, I have no idea at all. I send all the trophies home to my mother in Gurugram, she loves to keep these trophies.”
Virat Kohli has scored 28,068 runs in international cricket. He has reached the second position in the list of players scoring most runs in international cricket. Kohli said, “If I look back at my entire journey, it is no less than a dream come true for me. I always believed in my abilities, but also knew that a lot of hard work would have to be done to reach here. God has given me more than I expected.”
He said, “I am not thinking about milestones at all. If we were batting first, perhaps I would have played more aggressively, but while chasing the target, with runs on the board, I had to play according to the situation. The thought of hitting more boundaries came to my mind, but experience helps. The only thing in my mind was to take the team to a position where we can win comfortably.”
Team India lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma (26) at the score of 39 in 8.4 overs. From here, Kohli along with Shubman Gill improved the Indian innings by adding 118 runs for the second wicket.
Kohli said, “I bat at number three. If the situation is difficult, I rely on counterattacking instead of just waiting. One should not play unnecessary shots. When I came to bat after Rohit was out, I felt that if pressure is created in the first 20 balls, then the opposition will go on the backfoot. That proved to be the difference.”
Fans have expressed happiness over this victory of India. A female fan told that she had gone to the stadium only to watch the batting of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Along with this, he has expressed hope that Team India will win this series.
Guru Dutt, who reached the stadium to watch the match between India and New Zealand, said, “India has registered a great victory while chasing a huge target. We should also appreciate New Zealand. The visiting team has also worked very hard. However, they will have to leave Vadodara disappointed.”
Another fan said, “This match was very interesting. The stadium was packed with fans. Along with India, the New Zealand team has also performed brilliantly.”