Khaleel Ahmed’s reply on Virat Kohli’s absence: The Indian left-arm fast bowler was asked about the regular captain’s absence from the T20I series.
Having won the second T20I of the ongoing India’s tour of New Zealand at Auckland, India have now leveled the series 1-1. There is no hiding to the fact that the scoreline calls for a riveting deciding match to be played at Hamilton tomorrow.
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Left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed, who registered impressive bowling figures of 4-0-27-2, spoke to the media during the post-match press conference. On being asked about how the Indian bowlers contained the opposition batsmen after them posting a 200+ total in the last match, the 21-year old cricketer laid emphasis on bowling short balls due to the short straight boundaries.
“Because the ground was small, we deliberately bowled back of length to curtail boundaries. We had to shorten the length as conventional swing was not on offer. We showed a lot of improvement today and hope to improve further in the next game,” Ahmed was quoted as saying.
On his maiden international tour of New Zealand, Ahmed opened up on the difficulties which the conditions bring for bowlers but also considered them as learning curves for himself.
“One difficulty that we face in New Zealand while bowling is running into the wind which is a rarity elsewhere. But then these are little little things that you learn and it’s a great experience,” Ahmed said.
Being asked about playing the series-decider, the bowler from Rajasthan ruled out any surprise element for the team has already played a match at the same venue. Ahmed also talked about carrying the confidence from the second T20I.
“We have played in Hamilton and there won’t be any surprise element as far as the pitch is concerned. Also having won the second game gives us confidence going into the final match. We have rectified some of our mistakes from first game and hopefully a few which are there will also be corrected,” Ahmed added.
The press conference witness a hilarious moment when Ahmed was asked about whether the team is missing regular skipper Virat Kohli in the T20I series or not. Giving the impression of having no answer to the same, Ahmed initiated the laughter and eventually asked the reporters to ask the next question. Watch the full video below:
