India have beaten Pakistan, England, South Africa and of late even Australia too in ICC tournaments but New Zealand have proven to be the thorn in the Men in Blue's way far too often, whether it was the 2016 T20 World Cup, the 2019 World Cup or the 2021 World Championship final. The Kiwis have somehow found a way to succeed against India and it has been a polar opposite experience for the Men in Blue and Virat Kohli, who has been on the receiving end of such results as captain thrice in the last four years.
As India get ready to take on the Kiwis once again, but this time in much better form, having won all four games in the ongoing World Cup so far, all eyes will be on Kohli and how the top-order plays the Kiwi pace attack, which has undone a couple of times in recent times. What's so special about the Kiwis that they are able to succeed in ICC tournaments so regularly? Kohli revealed in a chat with Star Sports saying that the New Zealand team's structure and consistency are two of the main reasons behind it and that a side has to be at the top of its game to beat the Kiwis.
Speaking on Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Indian batting maestro Kohli said, "They are a very professional side and they are also a very structured side. They have a very structured way of playing their cricket but within that structured way they are very consistent and that's been the reason for their success consistently. They are a very consistent side and credit to the way they have played their cricket."
Kohli said that as an opponent, you have to find ways to break that consistency, break that rhythm and structure of the Kiwis to get a favourable result.
"Any team that plays against them obviously has to find ways of breaking that rhythm and playing to the best of their abilities, which will eventually decide whether you're going to cope up with their consistency or not because they are not a team that makes many mistakes and that's been their strength and at the international level if you don't make many mistakes, then you have a great chance of winning the game more often than not. So, that's as I said full credit to the way they have structured their cricket," Kohli further said.
