'Virat was brilliant, Gayle was awesome. We tried different lengths, different paces, it was a big learning experience for the young bowlers, probably a couple of dropped catches cost us today. Earlier on the ball was holding up a bit,' a disappointed Katich said after crashing out of the tournament.
To a query on whether they were complacent after posting a 200-plus score, he said, 'We never went out there thinking that the game is over. We watched the game the other night and saw that they made 215 so it wasn't a matter of being complacent. The bowlers tried all the different plans we had. But Gayle and Kohli had very, very good knocks. Unfortunately we didn't grab the opportunities when we had them and that ultimately cost us the match.'
On some NSW players being intimidated, he said, 'I don't think the boys got intimidated because a lot of our guys have played in front of big crowds before. Maybe the younger guys, it's a big occasion for them. I think they handled it pretty well. This experience will stand them in good stead. There's nothing more daunting than bowling to Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli in Bengaluru conditions with big crowds. They will take a lot out of this.'
His counterpart Daniel Vettori was of the view that 200 was chaseable on the belter Chinnaswamy stadium wicket.
'Its tough for the bowlers but it must be amazing to watch. Two hundred is a par score here. It was tough to be belted over the park but we managed to get home tonight.
He also lauded Gayle and Kohli for their stupendous efforts.
'They (Gayle and Kohli) are confident enough to back their games but you have still to play exceptionally well. It is pure batsmanship and it's enthralling to watch. Some of the bowlers will look forward to not playing here,' Vettori said.
Man-of-the-match Kohli said he was content to play the waiting game as long as Gayle was at the crease and did not go for big hits from the word go.
'I said it happens once in a while, but we have done it again. I went in with a mindset to play myself in, I was not desperate to score but I got the right cricket shots,' he said.
'Chris (Gayle) has the ability to give a 25-run over. The other day I made a mistake trying to go for a six off the strike bowler (Shaun Tait). This time I decided to play two dot balls. That (game against South Australia) will still be the best, this can be second-best I think,' he added.
On the satisfaction at successfully chasing a big score, Kohli said, 'There's no better feeling for a batsman than chasing that kind of a score. We batted so well, finishing in the end is very important. As a batsman you feel very satisfied with that kind of a performance. I wanted to finish it off because Gayle had got out. In the last game you saw how difficult it gets when you collapse. We didn’t want to take any chances. That's why I blocked a few but I was confident that given a few loose balls we can get there. Really, really satisfied that I could finish it off.'
