'Kohli was Annoying': Jacob Duffy reacts hilariously to Virat’s match-winning 74 in 1st ODI

Virat Kohli was on song against New Zealand in the series opener in Auckland, smashing his 80th ODI fifty to help the visitors take an early 1-0 lead. While he and his team captain Shubman Gill enjoyed their 113-run partnership for the second wicket, Kiwi quick Jacob Duffy, who eventually dismissed Kohli for 74, took a lighthearted dig at his innings, hilariously calling it ‘annoying’. Kohli played an old-school innings during the run-chase in the rain-hit 1st ODI, hitting 13 fours and a six, before miscuing one to Tim Seifert.

"He was annoying (laughs). Not many holes in his game… small ground; uses the pace very well,” Duffy said of Kohli’s innings at Eden Park.

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After India lost veteran opener Rohit Sharma for a duck in the first over, Kohli and Gill powered the team through a dicey first hour, which had two rain interruptions. With the 186-run target revised to 143 in 32 overs, the two batting stars went about their business and kept India ahead in the chase.

Kohli completed his fifty soon after before Duffy removed him. Although the right-arm quick impressed with his three wickets, including Shreyas Iyer (15) and Axar Patel (0), Duffy admitted that New Zealand’s first innings total was below par.

"180 at Eden Park was never going to be enough. They bowled pretty well. We showed our intent for the series that we won’t back down," he said.
Crediting the Indian bowlers for restricting the high-flying Kiwis under 200, Duffy said, "India bowled well, extracted the bounce very well. We are a good batting team.”

Kohli Breaks Tendulkar, Ponting Records

Kohli’s 80th ODI fifty also saw him surpass his batting hero and cricket great Sachin Tendulkar for the most runs scored in a successful run chase. While Sachin had scored 8,720 runs in ODI chases, Kohli went past that tally to 8,741 runs and counting.

The 37-year-old also became the first batter to score 13,000 or more ODI runs batting at number three and also equalled Ricky Ponting’s record of most ODI runs (1,971) against New Zealand.

India will want to build on Kohli’s form and winning momentum, with the second ODI scheduled on Saturday (Nov 7) in Wellington.