Mumbai: Indian captain Virat Kohli said that the batsmen may have been a bit too respectful to the Australian bowlers after his side fell to a massive 10-wicket loss in the first ODI between the two sides at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Australian skipper Aaron Finch and David Warner ensured that the visitors chased down a target of 255 without losing a wicket.
“Totally outplayed in all three departments. It’s a very strong Australian team, and if you don’t play well enough, they will hurt you,” said Kohli in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“In phases, we were too respectful against their bowlers, and didn’t take the game by the scruff of the neck. It’s another challenge to bounce back from here,” he said.
Kohli had come in at number four instead of his usual spot of number three, where KL Rahul had batted. It meant that he came in only in the 28th over with India having lost Rohit Sharma and Rahul and was dismissed after making just 16 runs. He said that the decision was made to accommodate the in-form Rahul in the lineup. The 121-run partnership that Rahul shared with Shikhar Dhawan ended up being India’s highest and one of the few passages of the game where the hosts looked comfortable.
“We’ve had this discussion in the past. Because of the way KL has batted, we have tried to have him bat up in the lineup. We might have to think about this. Every now and then, it’s about putting people up there and testing them. People need to relax and not panic. Today was one of the days it didn’t come off,” said Kohli. On the other hand, Australian skipper Aaron Finch said, “I thought the way we fought back in the middle overs with the ball had a huge part today.” (IANS)
Score Board
INDIA: 255 all out in 49.1 overs
Rohit Sharma c Warner b Starc 10
Shikhar Dhawan c Agar b Pat Cummins 74
Lokesh Rahulc Steven Smith b Agar 47
Virat Kohli c & b Zampa 16
Shreyas Iyerc Alex Carey b Starc 4
Rishabh Pant c Turner b Pat Cummins 28
Ravindra Jadeja c Carey b Richardson 25
Shardul Thakur b Starc 13
Mohammed Shami c Carey b Richardson 10
Kuldeep Yadav run out 17
Jasprit Bumrah not out 0
Extras: (lb-3, w-8) 11
Fall of wickets: 13-1, 134-2, 140-3, 156-4, 164-5, 213-6, 217-7, 229-8, 255-9
Bowling: Mitchell Starc 10-0-56-3, Pat Cummins 10-1-44-2, Kane Richardson 9.1-0-43-2, Adam Zampa 10-0-53-1, Ashton Agar 10-1-56-1.AUSTRALIA: 258 for no loss in 37.4 overs
David Warner not out 128
Aaron Finch not out 110
Extras: (B-4, LB-7, W-9) 20
Bowling: Mohammed Shami 7.4-0-58-0,
Jasprit Bumrah 0-50-0, Shardul Thakur 5-0-43-0, Kuldeep Yadav 10-0-55-0, Ravindra Jadeja 8-0-41-0. (PTI)