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India Lacked Strong Starts, Youngsters Must Learn from Kohli: Sunil Gavaskar
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes India’s inability to get solid starts was a major factor behind their ODI series loss to New Zealand, and said young batters should learn from Virat Kohli’s approach to pacing an innings while chasing challenging targets.
India suffered a 41-run defeat in the third and final ODI in Indore, losing their first-ever 50-over home series to New Zealand. Despite Virat Kohli’s fighting 124 off 108 balls, India fell short while chasing 338, largely due to the lack of support from the other end.
“Unless Virat Kohli got substantial support, it was always going to be difficult, and he didn’t get much of it,” Gavaskar said on *Amul Cricket Live* on JioStar. “The biggest issue for India throughout the series was the start. As they say, a good beginning is half the job done.”
He pointed out that India consistently failed to lay a strong foundation, which made chasing big totals increasingly difficult. The team lost half their side for just 159 runs, severely denting their chances in the decisive match.
“When you lose a batter in good form like KL Rahul, and then have Nitish Kumar Reddy, who hadn’t quite lived up to his potential before this innings of 53, followed by Harshit Rana—someone whose output can be unpredictable—it becomes an uphill task,” Gavaskar explained.
Praising Kohli’s resilience and mindset, the former opener urged younger players to follow the star batter’s example.
“Virat isn’t bound by an image. Many players feel pressured to play according to how they’re perceived, but Virat focuses only on the job at hand—scoring runs,” Gavaskar said. “Sometimes that means starting cautiously and then accelerating; other times it means attacking early and rotating the strike later. He plays according to the situation, not expectations.”
Gavaskar highlighted Kohli’s temperament as the key to his consistency. “He doesn’t think about what people expect from him. He never gives up and keeps fighting till the end. That’s the biggest lesson for youngsters—play the situation, not an image, and consistency will follow.”
He also praised Harshit Rana’s lower-order half-century, which briefly revived India’s hopes of a dramatic finish.
“It was an excellent innings by Harshit Rana. He batted exactly the way a lower-order player should—without pressure or expectations,” Gavaskar said. “What stood out was his ability to stay focused and not be affected by earlier failures, even with someone like Virat Kohli at the other end.”
