Virat Kohli explains why MS Dhoni batted slow: The Indian captain was vocal about India’s first loss in the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Advertisement
Succumbing to their first loss in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, India captain Virat Kohli considered the toss to be an important factor. After England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and chose to bat, the hosts posted 337/7 in 50 overs.
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli highlighted how a short boundary and a flat pitch aided the hosts. However, the Indian skipper sounded unperturbed with this being India’s only loss in the tournament.
“The toss was vital, especially looking at the boundaries that are this short. Bizarre that it just falls in place with the boundary limitations and with a flat pitch such as this. It’s crazy that things fall in place like that randomly. It’s the first time we are experiencing this. The toss wasn’t a massive factor, but we weren’t clinical with the bat I suppose because the wicket was flat,” Kohli was quoted as saying.
Kohli defends Indian spinners
While wrist-spinners are generally Kohli’s go-to options, both Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav leaked 160 runs in 20 overs. Being asked about if the same is a concern for the team, Kohli defended his spinners citing the short boundary going against them.
“If batsmen are able to reverse sweep you for a six on a 59-meter boundary, you can’t do much as a spinner. They [spinners] had to be more smart with their lines as it was difficult to contain runs with one short boundary. I thought they were going towards 360 at one stage, so we did well to pull things back. 10-15 lesser would’ve been better,” Kohli said.
Virat Kohli explains why MS Dhoni batted slow
When Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma were batting, it seemed as if India would seal the chase. The duo of Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya had also kept India in the match. While Kohli admitted that losing wickets at regular intervals costed them, he justified MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav debatable approach in the slog overs.
“If we were clinical with the bat, if the dismissals didn’t happen at that time then the result could have been different. We had a decent chance when they [Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya] were in there to strike a few and get closer to the target and trigger panic in their dressing room.
“It’s up to discussions with the two guys who were in there. I think MS [Dhoni] was trying really hard to get the boundary but it wasn’t coming off. They [English bowlers] bowled in good areas and the ball was stopping, hence it was difficult to bat towards the end. We have to sit and assess and improve on things in the next game,” Kohli concluded.
