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Kohli expresses surprise over Thakur, Bhuvneshwar not winning awards

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Last updated on 29 Mar 2021 | 07:36 AM
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Kohli expresses surprise over Thakur, Bhuvneshwar not winning awards

The Player of the Match and Series awards were won by Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow respectively

In a thrilling finale, India defeated England by seven runs in Pune on Sunday (March 28) to win the ODI series by a 2-1 margin. This was despite a fighting unbeaten 95 by Sam Curran, who gave the visitors hope after they found themselves 200/7 and later 257/8 in pursuit of a target of 330.

In the post-match presentation ceremony, the Player of the Match consequently was won by Curran despite his team ending up on the wrong side of the result. Meanwhile, his teammate Jonny Bairstow was named the Player of the Series for his sensational batting in the first two ODIs.

But India captain Virat Kohli didn't seem to quite agree with those calls and put across his viewpoint while speaking to commentator Murali Kartik after the match. He felt that Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserved the accolades for their performances in the match and the series respectively.

"I am quite surprised that he (Thakur) wasn't the Man of the Match today, to be honest. Four wickets for 65-odd (67) in 10 overs and scoring 30 off 20 balls and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar), again, a big contender for Man of the Series as well. Picking up six wickets at an economy of under six on these kind of pitches? For me, it's a no-brainer and I think these two guys were the difference during those middle overs and with the new ball as well. So, I think they were outstanding and a lot of credit goes to them for the series win," Kohli said.

In Sunday's game, Thakur took four wickets for 67 runs and put India in a dominating position by taking key wickets during the middle phase of England's innings. Among his scalps were Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone, both of whom were set and looked good for big scores. He also dismissed stand-in England skipper Jos Buttler, who has been one of the best white-ball batters in the world in recent years.

On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar was excellent across the T20Is and ODIs. In the three 50-over games, he took six wickets, but what was most impressive was his economy rate of 4.65, easily the best in the series.

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