Five Positives for Team India from the India vs NZ ODI Series

#2 Virat Kohli’s continued impressive run bodes well for Team India

Virat Kohli starred with the bat for the Indians (Image Courtesy: Bcci.tv)

Virat Kohli. Team India’s phenom. There is a sense of assurance when this man walks out to bat. You know he’s going to make it count, you know he’s going to give his best to take his team over the finish line. And he did just that, again, in the ODI series as India trounced the Kiwis 3-2.

He was at the centre of all the three victories for the home team, with an unbeaten 85 in the first ODI where he marshalled the Indian run chase followed by a marvellous 154* in the third ODI at Mohali as India chased down a daunting target of 286 runs, and a crucial 65 on a difficult pitch at Vizag in the series decider. He finished as the top run-scorer in the series by a long margin with 358 runs at an average of 119.3 and a strike-rate of 100.84.

The year 2016 has been a fruitful one for the Indian Test captain, as he has amassed a whopping 739 runs in 10 ODIs averaging 92.37. Although there have been questions raised over the excessive reliance of the team on the Delhi batsman, with him in such fine nick ahead of the Champions Trophy, it is clearly a good omen for Team India.