Virat Kohli blames poor shot selection for India’s loss in the 4th ODI

When a dominant India took on a rag-tag Windies in the 4th ODI, not many would have thought that the latter would win. The hosts were toothless in the 2nd and 3rd ODI, both of which India muscled by big victory margins. Had the visitors won the 4th game, they would have also sealed the series. But with the loss, the 5th ODI becomes a must-win for the Virat Kohli-led team.

After the match, captain Kohli pointed out how poor shot selection was the reason for their 11-run loss. After the India bowlers restricted the out of touch Windies batter for just 190, India’s famed batting, boasting of names like Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni failed to chase it down. Dhoni played unusually slow, as he laboriously crawled to a half century in 108 balls.

“Our shot selection wasn’t up to the mark,” said the Indian captain in the post-match presentation, “Losing crucial wickets at crucial stages. You’ve got to keep up the momentum through the game.” Kohli also said that the pitch “felt a bit two-paced.”

Windies bowlers outperformed their Indian counterpart 

He praised his bowlers, who have performed consistently well in all the three matches in this series and have restricted the opponent to below 200 in all the 3 games.  But the West Indies bowlers performed equally well to save them the last chance of squaring the series.

“We bowled really well to restrict them to 189,” said Kohli, “Credit to the West Indies bowlers. They created those dot balls that induced those mistakes. The bowlers were on the mark, and the fielders as well. With the bat we faltered and that can happen in this game. We just have to put this behind us and come back fresh for the next game,” said the Indian captain,” he concluded.

The 5th and deciding ODI will be played on July 6 at Kingston.