Thiruvananthapuram, December 9: Virat Kohli was not far off the mark when he said India's shoddy fielding had an effect on the outcome of the second T20I against West Indies on Sunday (December 8).
There was a smattering of dropped catches and missed ball stoppings on the field, even a brilliant fielder like Ravindra Jadeja was culprit of conceding a boundary.
"If you field like that, no total is good enough. With the ball we were good, the first four overs. But if you drop chances, it's going to cost you. Fielding is something - we need to be more brave," said Kohli.
The defeat also showed a chink in India's armour - defending totals. Kohli touched upon the point. "Could say that (India's inability to defend totals). The numbers say a lot of things, and a lot of things that aren't there as well. You expect to get 40-45 in last four overs, not 30 that we managed. Shivam's knock propelled us" Kohli said.
On promoting Shivam Dube up the order to No 3, Kohli said: "We knew the pitch is going to help spinners, so we thought why not Shivam go up and attack the spinner. That was the plan, worked very well."
On a day when Indian fielders did not rise above mediocre, Kohli stood out with an outstanding catch near the long-on fence to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer. "It was one of those catches that just stuck. I was committed to the ball, stretched both hands - last match I went with just one hand," he said.