We didn't bowl well in the last five overs: Vettori

“We just got to focus on things that have been really good for us today and watch the game tomorrow (Wednesday) as to who we will be playing (in the second Qualifier,” he said in his post-match comments.

Vettori felt the total his team put up was good enough to defend. “I thought 175 was a pretty good score. You would have been happy with the score at the start of the day but our bowling particularly at the end was disappointing. From first to 10th over, we controlled beautifully and Chris (Gayle) bowled well too. I don’t think we’ll look too much into how we bowled in the last five overs, instead we’ll take out the positives,” he noted.

The Kiwi didn’t agree that a second spinner would have any difference. “Those are the decisions that you look back after the defeat,” he pointed out. “We had done well with this team in the past so we were pretty pleased with the line-up. I don’t think it’s the right time to question that because they had done a wonderful job so far. I don’t think it would have been easy for another left-arm spinner against (Suresh) Raina... It wasn’t easy for the spinners out there,” he reasoned.

The skipper was all praise for Virat Kohli, who with 514 runs under his belt is the second highest run-getter in this edition behind team-mate Gayle. “Virat once again proved what a quality player he is,” noted Vettori. But Kohli’s 70 not out was overshadowed by Raina’s unbeaten 73. “People will always remember the last thing they see.

“Raina’s innings will be the one that will remain because he took them to the victory. But Virat gave us a chance by playing exceptionally well. He has been the quality player for us all through the tournament but Chris particularly has been the reason we have got so far,” he remarked.