AUSTRALIA VS INDIA, 5TH ODI

Hurts to lose when you're playing well, says Kohli

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Virat Kohli feels his side threw away the advantage by failing to capitalize on the crunch moments in the game © Cricbuzz

Virat Kohli has been the most consistent batsman in the ongoing One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia. He has scored at an average of over 93 so far, including two fifties and two hundreds. And yet, he finds himself, along with his team, staring at India's first 5-0 drubbing in ODIs since 1989.

Speaking ahead of the fifth and final ODI in Sydney, Kohli said India's defeats have been a result of the side's failure to capitalize on key moments. India, during each of the four games, found themselves with plenty of opportunities to drive home the advantage. However, there have been slip-ups that have proven to be too costly for the visitors. Australia, on the contrary, seized these chances and used them to propel them towards victory.

"We've played good cricket so far," Kohli said during a media interaction at the team hotel. "I know we have not capitalized on the important moments but I feel we've been very competitive on the field. But again, international cricket is all about capitalizing on those important moments which Australia has done better than us. And that's been the difference in the series.

"If you look at all the four games, the results could have gone either way. That's something we have really lacked in these games. We haven't been able to close games off. That's something you need to learn as international cricketers. I'm certain that the guys will learn from this."

Learning from this tour has been something that has also been stressed by India's captain and team director. Ravi Shastri had said before the fourth ODI that this tour will serve as a big learning curve for all the youngsters on tour, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni too echoed the same sentiments when he sprung to the team's defence after their baffling loss in Canberra.

"Next time they're in a similar situation, they'd want to close games off because no one wants to tour abroad and lose games after playing so well. It hurts even more. If you're not playing well, that's a different story, but when you're playing good cricket, it hurts even more that you're not able to cross the finish line," Kohli said.

Kohli also said that the team is trying to win the next four games (5th ODI and the ensuing Twenty20 Internationals) to ensure that they finish the tour on an even keel at four matches each.

"The morale is pretty similar to how we came initially. Everyone's trying and still working hard. We still have a game tomorrow and three T20s. We'd like to finish strongly. Maybe win all these four games that are left - look at the whole thing as a tour of eight games rather than two series separately. That might make us feel much better about where we stand."

India have scored in excess of 300 in three of the four games they have played (they scored marginally less in the game at Melbourne), and Kohli said that despite his side being in great form with the bat, the credit has to go to the home side for overcoming them.

"Coming to Australia and getting 300 plus scores every time you play. It's never been done before in a series, where a team has either scored 300 or come close to 300 every time. It's obviously not a good feeling to lose a cricket match ever. But we need to give credit to the Australian batsmen also.

"They know their conditions pretty well, they know the grounds, the angles, everything. And they've worked out pretty well how to chase scores down and set us a big total like the last game, as well. We could have executed our plans better with the ball. We haven't been able to execute our plans in crunch moments. Plus, Australia have played good cricket as well. They're world champions, they have a record streak of 18 wins at home, which is amazing. They are a pretty difficult side to beat at home," he added.

Asked whether the four successive defeats would result in the side having a mental block when they play Australia in the near future, the 27-year-old said he looks at it more as a challenge and an opportunity to assess, and impress.

"See, I can tell you personally that it's not a mental block. It's rather an opportunity, a challenge, playing against a very good cricketing side. It gives me a chance to test myself and see where I stand ability-wise and mentally.

"Like I said, we failed to capitalize on the crunch moments in the game. If we were mentally bogged down, we wouldn't have been able to compete at all. I don't think that's the case. We need to be more smart about how to close games down.(But) as I said, in the shorter format, immediate results matter and Australia has been the better team," he summed up.

© Cricbuzz

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