Virat Kohli criticizes Indian fielding after losing 4th ODI: The Indian captain didn’t sound very happy after a sloppy performance.
During the fourth ODI of the ongoing Australia’s tour of India at Mohali, Australia thrashed India by four wickets to level the series 2-2. The result now calls for a riveting series-decider fifth ODI to be played on Wednesday at Delhi.
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Having posted a 359-run target, the hosts were expected to restrict the opposition. With them not being able to do the same despite playing a couple of wrist-spinners depicts how well Australia batted under pressure.
Despite India’s new-ball bowlers made early inroads into the Australian batting line-up, it was a 192-run partnership for the third between Usman Khawaja (91) and Peter Handscomb which changed the course of the match. Top-scoring for his team, the latter ended up scoring his maiden ODI century, 117 (105), with the help of eight fours and three sixes.
Having said that, it was Ashton Turner who turned the match for the visitors. Coming in to bat at No. 6, the right-hand batsman remained unbeaten till the end to seal the chase. With him tearing apart the Indian bowling line-up, it must have come as a respite for his Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals.
The 26-year old right-hand batsman ended up scoring 84* (43) with the help of five fours and six sixes as Australia won the match in the 48th over.
“Ashton was the game-changer”
Speaking during the post-match presentation, India captain Virat Kohli claimed Turner’s knock to be a “game-changer”. While he admitted that bowling was difficult in the end, he also brought the dew affecting India’s chances towards the end.
“The wicket remained good throughout the game. It was very difficult to bowl in the end, Asthon’s innings was the game-changer. Last game, we were told there would be dew and we were at the wrong end. It became too wet to bowl, it was very difficult to bowl in the right areas. They played better cricket, they deserved to win,” Kohli was quoted as saying.
The Indian skipper was criticized with how he continually bowled with Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar and let Khawaja and Handscomb find their rhythm in the middle. “We had to get the fifth bowler out of the way, so we wanted to get done with it first,” Kohli unveiled the reason behind his ploy.
“We were sloppy in the field”
During the business end of the match, wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, Jadhav and Shikhar Dhawan erred on the field as India frequently missed chances in the middle. Talking about India’s sloppy fielding towards the end, Kohli believed the team should have grabbed those chances. Having let-down one and all tonight, Kohli anticipated the last match to be a ‘cracker’.
“We were sloppy in the field and should’ve grabbed our chances. The opportunities slipped away and so was the game. It’s going to be cracker of a game, we’ve had two eye-openers in two games. We have to work hard and we got to come up with more intensity and passion in the next game,” Kohli concluded.
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