IND vs WI | Stagnant death overs with bat and sloppy fielding cost India the game, laments Virat Kohli
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Virat Kohli has identified his team's sloppiness in the field and their lack of acceleration towards the end with the bat as the two major reasons for the defeat on Sunday. After losing the toss and batting first, India managed to post a total of 170, but were downed with ease by the Windies.
In general, India is a team that we associate with big-hitting and flawless fielding, but Sunday's performance was anything but that. On a pitch where the ball was flying off the bat, the Indian batsmen managed to just score 26 runs in their last five overs, thus only managing to eventually reach a total of 170. To go on top of that, their sloppiness in the field added to their woes as the Windies, led by Lendl Simmons, made easy work of the target under 19 overs.
Reflecting on the performance, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has lamented his side's inability to accelerate with the bat and their sluggishness in the field which, he feels, were the two major factors that contributed to the defeat.
"Could say that (Stats showing batting first a problem). Numbers say a lot of things, and a lot of things that aren't there as well. You expect to get 40-45 in last four overs, not 30. Shivam's knock propelled us. If you field like that, no total is good enough," Kohli said in the post-match presentation, reported Cricbuzz.
"With the ball we were good, the first four overs. But if you drop chances, it's going to cost you. Fielding is something - we need to be more brave," the Indian skipper added.
One of the more interesting moments of the match came in the first innings, where Kohli, completely out of the box, promoted Shivam Dube to bat ahead of him at No.3. The move paid rich dividends as the all-rounder top-scored for India with a 30-ball 54 and Kohli has now revealed that the move was made to unsettle the Windies on a track that had some assistance for the slower bowlers.Â
Kohli also discussed his acrobatic effort to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer, but played it down, saying that it was just one of those catches 'that stuck'.
"We knew the pitch is going to help spinners, so we thought why not Shivam Dube go up and attack the spinner. That was the plan, worked very well. It (the Hetmyer catch) was one of those catches that just stuck. Committed to the ball, stretched both hands - last match I went with just one hand."
With the series locked in at 1-1, the two teams will settle things out in the third and final T20I at Wankhede on Wednesday.Â
