Virat Kohli on India’s Playing XI for Mumbai: The Indian captain said that Kedar Jadhav’s presence will give India more bowling options.
During the third ODI of the ongoing Windies’ tour of India at Pune, Windies defeated India by 43 runs to level the series 1-1. With a couple of matches remaining, the series is expected to be more riveting now.
After Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to field, Windies got off to a mediocre start only to be bettered in the second half of their innings. In their allotted quota of 50 overs, Windies scored 283-9. Shai Hope, who came in to bat at No. 3, top-scored with 95 (113). His innings comprised of nine fours and three sixes.
With bowling figures of 10-1-35-4, apart from being the pick of the Indian bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah also proved as to why he is rated so highly in limited-overs cricket.
India lost wickets at regular intervals which prevented them from chasing the target despite another Virat Kohli masterclass. What hurt them the most was the lack of significant partnerships, something which Kohli pointed out during the post-match presentation.
Speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar, he was quoted, “We couldn’t get partnerships, which doesn’t happen often. We were fine on the field. We didn’t execute our plans properly. West Indies is an explosive side, capable of beating anyone on their day, and they deserved to win.”
Having dismissed half their side at 121 in the 24th over, India were expected to bundle out Windies for a much lower total than 283-9. On being asked about the performance of his bowlers, Kohli agreed to the fact that the bowlers should have restricted the opposition to a lesser total.
“We bowled well, the wicket wasn’t offering much in the first 35 overs. In the later half, it became difficult. We should’ve been chasing 250-260, max, but that apart the bowling was fine. Just that we gave away a little in the last 10 overs and should’ve closed it out better,” he said.
With Kedar Jadhav returning for the next ODI, India are anticipated to make more changes to their playing eleven. Talking on the combination for the remaining two matches of the series, Kohli said that Jadhav will give India an extra bowling option.
“When Hardik and Kedar both play, we get the extra bowling option. Kedar will come in next game which will give us better balance. We have to leave out one bowler, but we have six options to choose from,” he concluded.
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