India have announced themselves at the World Cup 2019 by notching a 36-run victory over defending champions Australia at The Oval on Sunday. Player of the Match Shikhar Dhawan’s 117 helped India post 352/7 in their 50 overs before the bowlers dismissed the opponents for 316 to win their 2nd successive win in the tournament.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli seemed mighty pleased with his team’s performance, especially after Australia beat them 3-2 in an ODI series held earlier this year in India. After the win, Kohli said that ‘intent right from ball one’ helped them conquer Australia while praising his bowlers for ‘an outstanding effort with the ball’ on a belter of a track at The Oval.
“A top, top win for us after losing that series in India. We had a point to prove. We came in with intent right from ball one. The opening partnership was outstanding. It was an outstanding effort with the ball on a good batting track. You have to bowl well. You can’t take things for granted just because you have 350 on the board,” said Kohli.
Kohli also explained why the team decided to send the big-hitting Hardik Pandya to bat after India lost their 2nd wicket in the form of Rohit Sharma.
“We decided to send Hardik to cash in. I held one up and Hardik could go from ball one,” explained Kohli.
On the question of whether he thought of playing fast bowler Mohammed Shami on a track that didn’t offer much to the bowlers, Kohli was of the view that Shami would play if the conditions are ‘overcast and proper bowling conditions’.
“For us, if Shami has to play, it has to be overcast and proper bowling conditions,” said Kohli.
The skipper also heaped special praise on the openers Dhawan and Rohit Sharma along with the bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah who shared 6 wickets between them.
“That 30 runs gives you the luxury and also one of the top three getting a hundred. Very professional again. These guys are very experienced; you hardly need to say anything to them,” concluded Kohli.
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Source: indiatoday
