Virat Kohli discloses why India played Kuldeep Yadav over Yuzvendra Chahal in 2nd ODI vs West Indies

Kohli discloses why India played Kuldeep Yadav: The Indian team management decided to rest Chahal, who has a better record of late.

During the second ODI of the ongoing India’s tour of West Indies at Port of Spain, India defeated West Indies by 59 runs (DLS Method) to gain an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, India captain Virat Kohli revealed reason behind batting first after winning the toss and opined about India’s total of 279/7 being a challenging one.

“Good outing with the bat. Exactly why we wanted to bat first. If you saw the later half of the West Indies innings, it was difficult to bat on. I think the rain in between helped them else it would have been tough to bat in the middle overs. We knew that anything over 270 would be challenging,” Kohli was quoted as saying.

On his 42nd ODI century and Shreyas Iyer

Leading from the front, Kohli top-scored for India after scoring 120 (125) with the help of 14 fours and a six. On the way to his 42nd ODI century, Kohli stitched two vital partnerships with his deputy Rohit Sharma (18) and middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer (71) to post a handsome total for the team.

“Feels good to get a hundred when the team wanted me to get one. Shikhar [Dhawan] and Rohit [Sharma] didn’t get a big one. One of the top three has always got the big one. A senior man had to step up and today was my opportunity to step up. It was important to string in a lot of dot balls,” Kohli said.

Batting for India after more than 18 months, Iyer oozed confidence during his stay in the middle. Coming in to bat at No. 5 in the 23rd over, Iyer registered his third ODI half-century in a convincing way. Before getting out in the 46th over, Iyer scored 71 (68) with the help of five fours and a six.

“He [Shreyas Iyer] is a very confident guy and has the right attitude. Really got the tempo going and took the pressure of me. After I got out, he got the extra runs as well,” Kohli said about the 24-year old batsman.

Virat Kohli discloses why India played Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal

Much like the washed out first ODI in Guyana, India played chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav over leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Being asked about the reason for doing the same despite Chahal’s better numbers in the recent past, Kohli pointed out the left-handed batsman in the opposition.

“The number of left-handers work in favour of Kuldeep [Yadav] and that’s why we went in with him rather than [Yuzvendra] Chahal. He is more lethal against the left-handers because of his variations and the lines that he bowls to them. Kedar was precise as well.

“With the number of left-handers, you want to go with a chinaman bowler rather than a leggie. With [Ravindra] Jadeja playing, it helps our balance,” Kohli added.