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Theres Not Many Holes In That Mans Game, Says Duffy On Kohli After Auckland ODI Defeat

Match Anshul Kamboj: New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy has seen plenty of Virat Kohli up close, in the nets in Bengaluru during IPL 2026 and now in an ODI at Eden Park on Wednesday. On both counts, Duffy came away with the same conclusion: there is no easy way to get at the India batter. Kohlis 74 off 51 balls, hit a day before his 38th birthday, powered India to a five-wicket win by the DLS method in the first ODI on Wednesday. In Kohlis knock studded with authoritative pulls and a stunning cover drive on the up, India chased down a revised target of 143 in 32 overs in 22.4 overs and now have a 1-0 lead in the five-game series. It was a bit annoying, wasnt it? 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 hes a pretty good guy to do it. Quite impressive, wasnt he? Like he didnt struggle with the bounce. He got inside those hook shots, pull shots, and then he can whack you down the ground. No surprise, hes a good player. Hes done it for a lot of years and he did that to me in the nets a lot in Bangalore, Duffy said in the post-match press conference. Duffy felt Kohli might have played differently with a bigger total to chase, but admitted that his time in Bangalore had not revealed any obvious weakness. I think if theyre batting first or theres a bigger score on the board, itd be interesting to see if he plays like that. I dont know if he will. I did get some intel in the nets over in Bangalore, but theres 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, like I said, hit you over your head as well. So, theres not many holes in that mans game. The pacer also spoke about the fan frenzy that follows Kohli everywhere, and said he admired how the former India captain handled it. We got a wee taste of it. Obviously, well, probably more of a taste of it in Bangalore, following him around the airports and sitting on planes with him and stuff. Its a weird life. Theres nothing we can fathom. What I, not just him, but a lot of the Indian blokes, they are very patient, especially, and they appreciate their fans very much. So, at times it gets a little bit on top of you, especially in India, were there for a long time, and it does get a little bit on top of you and you get a little bit impatient sometimes, especially as the overseas players. But the local boys and Virat, theyre the patient guys. Theyre the ones that appreciate the fans, and so Ive always looked up to him for that reason. But he has a pretty wild lifestyle. I dont know if its my cup of tea to be harassed as much as he is. But its impressive to watch. Its quite amazing. Earlier, New Zealands batters had struggled against Indias seamers, who bowled them out for 185 in 40.2 overs after the visitors chose to bowl. Arshdeep Singh took four wickets, Gurnoor Brar had three scalps, and Player of the Match Anshul Kamboj conceded just 22 runs in his 10 overs, while taking two wickets. Duffy admitted the total was never going to be competitive on a ground like Eden Park. Probably 180 at Eden Park is never going to be enough, I think. Obviously, I think they bowled really well. I think theyve got some big boys in that bowling team and they used the bounce of the surface really well. So, they did that well and we probably just werent at our best with the bat to start with and then pretty tough to defend 180 and then they can just come hard like that and just knock a few off pretty quick. He gave Indias attack due credit, but backed his batters to bounce back in the second ODI happening in Wellington on Saturday. Credit to them for bowling very well. They extracted bounce very well, and like I said, very tall bowlers at the seam and extracted that bounce. I think you saw when the guys did try to sort of lift the ante or play some shots, then quite a few went straight up, which no, I wouldnt have fallen for that. I think theyll adapt and adjust, and I think were a good batting team. Its not going to happen again like that, I cant imagine. So, theyll adapt and go again. Duffy did not hide from the impact of losing the toss either, explaining how the rain had changed the pitchs nature. Its a tough one. It definitely plays a factor. I think were lying if we say its not. Everyone wants to toss in bowls for us for a reason. Im not saying its not impossible, dont get me wrong. Its not like its huge - its not like were giving up as soon as weve lost a toss. But as soon as you get a little bit of moisture in the wicket, I thought tonight theres a bit of wind around and we actually might not, but I guess the rain sort of adds that moisture that the dew would have otherwise. So when it does skid on like that, it sort of takes away the tackiness and that sort of tennis bully bounce we saw in their innings, which thats what I thought made the ball. Theyre batting hard. New Zealands innings was given some respectability by a 39-run last-wicket stand between Blair Tickner and Duffy himself and he was quick to hand the credit to his batting partner. Tix batted well. I aged a few. It was amazing, wasnt it? Like I said, the big boys get some bounce and we tried to swing and have a few, but it didnt quite come off. But Tix was quite impressive, wasnt he? Good ball striking for a number 11. Pretty impressive. With the ball, New Zealand turned to the short stuff once India set off in pursuit. Duffy said the hosts wanted to send a message for the rest of the series. To be honest, probably a little bit too little, too late. But theres still things to gain out there. Tix batted well. I aged a few. It was amazing, wasnt it? Like I said, the big boys get some bounce and we tried to swing and have a few, but it didnt quite come off. But Tix was quite impressive, wasnt he? Good ball striking for a number 11. Pretty impressive. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories Article Source: IANS