Kohli: 'Back myself to counterattack than just playing the situation'

India's early aggression with the bat in a chase of 302 proved the difference in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, according to Virat Kohli. After India lost Rohit Sharma for 26 in the powerplay, Kohli spearheaded India's aggression, hitting six fours in his first 20 balls and went onto add 118 for the second wicket with Shubman Gill. Despite late strikes from Kyle Jamieson, India ended up winning by four wickets with an over to spare.

"Well, the basic idea is I bat at No.3," Kohli said after winning the Player-of-the-Match award for his 93 off 91 balls. "So if the situation is a bit tricky, I back myself to counterattack now rather than just trying to play the situation in because some ball has your name on it.

"So there's no point waiting around for too long. But at the same time, you don't play outrageous shots. You still stick to your strengths, but you back yourself enough to put the opposition on the back foot. I just felt like if I push hard now in the first 20 balls, then we can probably string in a partnership straight after a wicket like Rohit's where the opposition is going to go on the back foot. And that actually ended up being the difference in the game."

Kohli came away with his 45th Player-of-the-Match award in ODI cricket. Only Sanath Jayasuriya (48) and Sachin Tendulkar (62) have won more Player-of-the-Match awards in ODIs. Kohli, who has retired from Test cricket and T20Is, and is only active in ODIs, fondly looked back on his journey.

"Honestly, if I look back at my whole journey, it's nothing short of a dream come true for me," Kohli said. "I've always mentioned that I've always known my abilities. How much ability I had when I came in and I had to work for a lot more to get to the place I'm today and God has blessed me with way too much for me to complain about anything. So I feel nothing but gratitude. I always look back at my whole journey with a lot of grace and a lot of gratitude in my heart and I feel proud about it."

India captain Gill lauded Kohli for his range of shots on a tricky Vadodara pitch. "I mean, at the moment, the way he's batting, he's just making batting so easy, especially on this kind of a surface, it's not easy to start," Gill said. "But the way he's batting, it's very hard to replicate how he's batting at the moment and the confidence that he's got. So hopefully he'll keep piling on the runs for us. So many options to choose from."

India and New Zealand will meet again in the second ODI in Rajkot on January 14.