We were completely outplayed, can't live in denial: Kohli

A disappointed Virat Kohli on Monday admitted that his side was "completely outplayed" by New Zealand in two-Test series and y can't live in denial about "t being brave eugh" to counter adverse conditions. Indian batting was in complete shambles in two-Test series and skipper said that with a packed schedule, team manment will have to find solutions despite time constraints.

"Obviously quite disappointed with how we played in this series. I feel like we were completely outplayed in this series," Indian captain was honest and forthright in his assessment following seven-wicket loss in second Test here."We obviously didn't play kind of cricket we do as a team. thing to take away from here is to t shy away from things that have gone wrong and instead address m straight up, and t be in denial," he said.

Asked to point out what exactly went wrong, Kohli felt outlook towards a series in adverse conditions was "t ideal"."I think outlook as far as I am concerned, and as far as I saw things happening, was t ideal for us in this series. We were t positive eugh. We were t brave eugh in moments, which we have done in past. Skills follow your mindset, simple as that."However, he didn't like New Zealand being called India’s "bogey team", having lost to Black Caps in 2019 World Cup semifinal and two series in white and red ball formats."I am sure one was saying that in first half of tour," he said referring to his team's 5-0 win in T20 series.

"You can’t just make a team a bogey team because of one Test series defeat and a semi-final loss. y played better cricket on that day, and in this Test series, and re is shame in accepting that."We are t trying to create some controversy by tagging a team or naming a bogey team or something like that," skipper certainly wasn't amused.But does team have eugh time to iron out flaws considering amount of cricket it plays?.

"re are two ways to look at it. I would much rar be in middle and try to correct those things rar than having too much time in between and waiting for a game to arrive so that you can figure out wher you have corrected it or t," said Kohli." advant of playing a lot of cricket is that if you are working on something, you have many games to try and execute it straight up. It's way you look at it. As I said, it needs to be balanced. Neir can you over-think r be in denial. It works differently for different people."

Asked about specific mistakes that this team can rectify, Kohli said that clarity of mind is paramount."Something (clarity) we failed to do as a batting unit, and I truly believe that we made too much of conditions from first day onwards, of first Test: overcast, a bit of dampness on pitch – we never spoke of se things before."If you’re t clear in your head n feet don’t move, you’re t quite sure wher to play shot or t, leave ball or play ball. I think se sort of things can creep in, and which have crept in our game in this series. It’s something we have recognised already," he added.