Revenge Not On Mind, Says Virat Kohli As He Hails 'Nice' New Zealand Players

India’s campaign in last year’s World Cup came to a heartbreaking end after they suffered a narrow loss at the hands of New Zealand in the semifinal. The Men in Blue were favourites to win the game after finishing the league stage at the top of the points table.

And when they managed to restrict New Zealand to a modest 239, their chances looked even more brighter. However, New Zealand came up with a stunning display with the ball to restrict India to 221 and win the game by 18 runs to storm into the World Cup final for the second time in a row. They, however, ended up on the wrong side of the result in the final against hosts England.

India and New Zealand are now gearing up to take on each other for the first time since that clash in the World Cup. But while the Indian fans are looking forward to seeing India take revenge for the loss in the World Cup, captain Virat Kohli holds a different view. Speaking ahead of the first T20I, Virat Kohli said that revenge is not on the team’s minds.

Virat Kohli said that the New Zealand players are so nice that it is tough to think about taking revenge against them. At the same time, he also made it clear that the team will not compromise with competitiveness on the field.

“Not really. Even if you want to think of revenge these guys are so nice that you cant get into that zone. It’s all about being competitive on the field. They are one side that has set the right example for teams to carry themselves on the international stage. We were actually happy for them when they qualified for World Cup finals. When you have lost you have to look at the larger picture. So nothing about revenge,” Virat Kohli said.

“You have to play good cricket to win. know what they bring to the table while playing at home. We are not going to take them for granted. They know their conditions well, they understand how the pitches play, the angles off the field. They will have a slight home advantage. But we have also played here a lot. So we definitely have to be at our best,” he added.

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