Virat Kohli Issues A Warning To New Zealand Ahead Of Their Bilateral Series

The Indian Cricket Team is confident after winning the ODI series against Australia ahead of their tough tour to New Zealand. The Men in Blue are scheduled to play five T20Is, three ODIs, and two Tests against the Black Caps. The top-two sides would meet one-on-one for the first time since Kane Williamson’s and Co. eliminated India from the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Manchester. And Virat Kohli has declared that his men would try to put the pressure on the home side from the get-go.

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Previously, India toured New Zealand for the five-match ODI series and three T20Is in 2019. Men in Blue thrashed Kiwis comprehensively by 4-1 in the 50-over series. However, they ended up losing the T20I series by 2-1. While Indian team is coming off completing a perfect home season, the Kiwis have tasted a Test series defeat to Australia down under and have a handful of injury concerns at the same time.

The Indian skipper Kohli said that his team is confident ahead of the full-fledged series in New Zealand and is taking a lot of positives from the way they fared, last year. The 31-year old further conceded that the key to playing away from home is to keep the home side under check, and it is the way one can enjoy their game.

“We are taking a lot of confidence from our performance last year. We were very positive in how we played, very sure of what we wanted to do. The thing about playing away is you’re able to put the home team under pressure, you can enjoy your cricket.” Kohli said as quoted by Times of India.

Kohli is eyeing to apply the same pressure on Kiwis which they did last time:

Kohli also said that it is a universal feeling for every home team to thrive in their conditions. Also, he spoke about how their spin bowlers tied the Kiwi batsmen by picking up wickets at regular intervals, and they are looking to do the same, this time around.

“You have to win at home, there’s that sort of feeling for the hosts. So if you bring out your A-game, you can really put them under pressure. That’s what we did last year, squeezed them in the middle overs and picked up wickets, spinners were outstanding. Looking forward to take the same intensity into this series.” he added further.

The Indian team will leave for New Zealand on Monday night. Besides, the tour will kick-off with the first T20 international on January 24 at the Eden Park in Auckland.

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