Cricket World Cup 2019: Virat Kohli says India's dramatic semi-final defeat against New Zealand is ‘hard to take’

Virat Kohli admitted New Zealand were deserved winnings against India and said their dramatic 18-run defeat in the World Cup semi-final is “hard to take”.

India were left scrambling to chase down the 240 target New Zealand set them the day before when Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were all dismissed for just one run each.

New Zealand posted a “chasable” - according to Kohli - score on Tuesday but rain delayed India’s innings at Old Trafford and play resumed on Wednesday morning.

The day could not have started much worse for India when Kiwi quicks Matt Henry and Trent Boult had the favourites to reach the final stuck on 5/3 in the fourth over.

India slumped to 92-6, but an eighth wicket partnership between MS Dhoni and Jadeja yielded 114 runs and shed some light on an unlikely run chase before new Zealand worked through the tailenders and advanced to the final.

"It's tough - 45 minutes of bad cricket put you out of the tournament,” he said.

“It's hard to come to terms with but New Zealand deserve it - they put us under pressure and came through in the key moments.

"Our shot selection could've been better but otherwise we played a good brand of cricket and I'm proud of the way we played. Come the knockouts it is anyone's game and New Zealand showed more composure and were braver and they deserve to go through to the semi-finals."

The India captain believed his side had the upper hand coming into the forced second day, but said New Zealand’s bowlers were the difference between the sides.

"We got what we needed to get in the field morning and we thought we had restricted them to a total that is chaseable on any surface. But the way the bowled in that first half an hour was the difference in the game.

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"It was fine having to come back today. We had a good day yesterday and I'm very proud of that effort. Then it was a professional effort with the ball this morning and we had the momentum.

"But credit to the New Zealand bowlers - the way they bowled with the new ball, moving it around, it was an outstanding skill level on display and they made life very difficult for our batsmen."

India were close to producing one of the most memorable run chases in cricket history when Jadeja was ticking off the milestones alongside Dhoni on his way to scoring 77 off 59 balls.

"Jadeja had an outstanding game,” said Kohli. “The way he played today was a great sign for his skill set and what he can do for the team. He turned the game around in no time and had a good partnership with Dhoni, who got run out in the end. It's a game of margins.”

Kane Williamson was brilliant as captain in the field and was quick to praise his bowlers for an “outstanding” display.

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New Zealand started the tournament well but tailed off towards the end and snuck through to the semi-finals due to having a higher run-rate than Pakistan. Now, they are planning to take on the winner of England vs Australia at Lord’s on Sunday.

“We've had to skin it over the round robin,” said Williamson. “A lot of heart has been shown by the guys so far but we're keeping our feet on the ground. It was a great semi-final and we're happy to be on the right side of it.

"We spoke about the conditions during the interval, we wanted to put the ball in good areas and move the ball around and put some pressure on India, they are a world-class side. It was a great start from the bowlers, we knew it would get tougher for us as the innings went on. We showed plenty of heart and the fielders and bowlers were outstanding."