Star batsman Virat Kohli has cited India's failure to capitalise on crunch moments as the biggest reason to trail 0-4 against Australia in the five-match one-day international series and called on his battered side to get smarter in terms of finishing off games.
The tourists suffered demoralising debacles so far in the ongoing tour as they failed to defend three back-to-back 300-plus totals before squandering a good chance to chase down in the fourth match in Canberra.
"We have failed to capitalise on crunch moments. If we were mentally bogged down we won't be able to compete at all. We need to be smarter about how to close games down," Kohli told reporters ahead of the inconsequential fifth and final ODI in Sydney.
The right-handed batsman, who became the fastest batsman to register 25 ODI tons, also insisted that his side are aiming to finish the tour on a strong note.
"We will try to win remaining four games. We are looking the series as a tour of eight games (three T20s). It might make us feel much better about where we stand if we do well from here on," Kohli added.
"We've played good cricket so far but haven't capitalised on important moments. I feel we have been very competitive on the field. Results could have gone either way if you see the all four games. We have not been able to close games off. That is something you need to learn as international cricketers. I am certain guys will take learning out of this. No one wants to tour abroad and lose games after playing so well. It hurts even more," he observed.
