IND vs AUS | Indian bowlers over-pitched the ball to Aaron Finch, reckons David Warner
David Warner, whose unbeaten ton in the first ODI helped his team thrash the home side by ten wickets, feels that the Indian bowlers over-pitched the ball to Aaron Finch on a flat Wankhede wicket. Warner also opined that the innings in the 1st ODI in Mumbai was the best he's seen Aaron Finch bat.
Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, it looked like Australia were in for a 350-plus chase after Rohit Sharma smashed Mitchell Starc for two boundaries in the very first over of the match. However, the Aussie bowlers held their consistency, line, length and bounced back in style to restrict the hosts to a total of 255 in the first innings, one, at that point in time, that looked like a below-par score.
And in their pursuit of the target, the Aussie openers went hell for leather from the very first ball, racing off to 84/0 within the first 10 overs. Warner, who was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten 128, feels that the Indian bowlers erred in their lengths to Aaron Finch, over-pitching one too many deliveries on a flat Wankhede wicket.
"I think they over-pitched a little bit to Finchy. He was able to get on the front stool (foot) and put them away," Warner said in the post-match presentation, reported Cricbuzz.
"There are days as a batsmen when they are not going to fielders but going in the gaps. One or two going to fielders can put you a bit back in confidence. But tonight was making the most of those over-pitched deliveries and we got off to a good start," he added.
The Aussie openers stuck to the very same ploy that worked wonders for them in the World Cup - that of Finch taking charge in the initial overs, allowing Warner to settle into the contest - and it paid rich dividends on Tuesday, too, as they chased the target down without losing a single wicket. The 33-year-old opener also stated that the first ODI was the best he'd seen his partner and skipper Finch, who also scored an unbeaten ton, bat in an ODI game.
"The most pleasing thing for me to see from the other end was Finchy transferring his weight on to the ball very well. He talks about not doing that as consistently but tonight was probably the best I've ever seen him bat," the Aussie opener said.
"Credit goes to him, the way he played was fantastic. It was just great to have that winning partnership and be clinical there and none down," he added.