After India’s five-wicket win in the rain-hit first ODI in Auckland, New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy came for the post-match press conference with a mix of frustration and genuine admiration for Virat Kohli. The Indian batter had just smashed 74 off 51 balls, full of crisp pulls, hooks and a couple of clean hits down the ground, guiding India to a revised target of 143 with plenty of overs to spare.
Jacob Duffy, who had bowled to Kohli many times in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru nets during the IPL, did not hold back. “Yeah, it was a bit annoying, wasn’t it?” he said with a smile. “Small targets like that, if you get a guy to come out with that kind of intent to knock it off, it can just break the chase pretty easily. And he’s a pretty good guy to do it. Quite impressive, wasn’t he?”
The most memorable line came when Duffy summed up the challenge of bowling to the Indian star. “I did get some intel in the nets over in Bangalore, but there’s not many holes in his game, to be fair. On small grounds like that, he uses the pace really well, and then he can obviously hit you over your head as well. So, there’s not many holes in that man’s game.”
Jacob Duffy opens up on Virat Kohli’s approach after his brilliant 74 against New Zealand
Jacob Duffy gave an honest answer when asked if Kohli might play the same way if India were batting first or chasing a much bigger total. “I think if they’re batting first or there’s a bigger score on the board, it’d be interesting to see if he plays like that. I don’t know if he will.”
He went on to explain exactly why Kohli looked so comfortable. “He didn’t struggle with the bounce. He got inside those hook shots, pull shots, and then he could whack you down the ground. No surprise, he’s a good player. He’s done it for a lot of years and he did that to me in the nets a lot in Bangalore.”
Coming from a bowler who shared a dressing room at RCB with Kohli only months earlier, the praise carried extra weight. Duffy had already spoken earlier about Kohli’s work ethic and down-to-earth nature, calling him a megastar who still made overseas players feel welcome. Virat Kohli’s 74 helped India pick up an early win in the ODI series to go 1-0 up in the five match series.
