India vs Australia | We don’t want batting collapses, says Virat Kohli

03/09/2019

After India lost to Australia for the first time in the ongoing ODI series, Virat Kohli has made it clear to the Indian batsmen that he doesn’t want collapses rather he wants partnerships that can help the side. The Indian skipper has also hinted at resting a few of the players in the last two ODIs.

India had a target of 314 to chase down in Ranchi during the third ODI of the five-match series, but the top-order failed again for the hosts. India were left reeling at 27/3 in 6.2 overs after Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu went back into the hut cheaply with a big target in front of them. Kohli, however, tried stabilising the things in the middle with MS Dhoni at the other end. The captain was the top scorer for the Men in Blue with 123 off 95 balls but that was not enough to take India beyond the finishing line as they suffered a 32-run defeat.

After the match, Kohli looked disappointed with the batting collapse and credited the Aussies for playing good cricket on the given day. He also spoke about his 41st ODI hundred and second in the series where he looked in a sublime touch before getting out to leggie Adam Zampa.

“The guys who have got out will want to make the most of the opportunity. We don't want collapses. We want partnerships that can get us going,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation, reported Cricbuzz.

“In terms of hitting the ball, it was one of my finest hundreds. I just felt really clear in my head from ball one. Even after three wickets I thought I should play my game and not think of what happens if I play my shots. I was very disappointed when I got out. I really thought we had a chance with the difference being 20 between balls and runs. Australia played better on the day. Adam bowled well and they won the game.”

India are expected to make a few changes in the next two games of the series in Mohali and Delhi as those will be last two international matches before the upcoming World Cup. Batting coach Sanjay Bangar has already revealed that Dhoni will be rested in the next two games and Pant will have the responsibility behind the stumps.

“We will have a few changes in the next couple of games. We have to figure out what those changes are. But the idea is to go out there and win matches and take a lot of pride in winning games for the country. That mindset will not change,” the Indian skipper explained.

“We will have a few new faces and they will have to make the most of their chances because there is a World Cup coming and everyone wants to be on that flight. The guys are excited and looking forward to it. A little hiccup in the middle but we will regroup and come back stronger.”

Australia had a terrific start in the game as the opening duo of Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja added 193 runs for the opening wicket. Although Finch got out for 93, Khawaja went on to score his maiden ODI ton. The Indian bowlers, on the other hand, did well to pull things back in the last 10 overs as Australia managed 313 on the board at the end of the innings.

“We were (in the game) specially how we pulled back things in the last 10 overs. We thought we would be chasing 350+ with the way Australia were going. I think they batted outstandingly well in the first 40 overs, but we pulled it back in the last 10 after Maxi's run out,” Kohli said.

“We were quite optimistice of our chance but well.. We were told there was going to be dew around 7-7 30, but there is not a drop of dew on the ground even now. I got that calculation wrong a little bit. Nonetheless, we were keen to get that score on the board. The wicket wasn't improving at all and wasn't getting easier to bat on.”

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