Captain Virat Kohli admitted that things didn’t at all go as per the plans in India’s first World Cup warm-up tie, against New Zealand, which they lost by six wickets at The Oval on Saturday.
However, Kohli also highlighted the positives from this match, emphasising that his team has to be precise in all three aspects of the game.
India were bundled out for 179 after winning the toss and opting to bat first, and New Zealand comfortably reached home with as many as 77 balls to spare. Captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor made the task simpler for the Black Caps with knocks of 67 and 71, respectively.
Trent Boult grabbed four wickets earlier on with some incisive swing bowling as India were shot out inside 40 overs. The left-arm pacer grabbed four for 33 in 6.2 overs before Ravindra Jadeja’s counter-attacking half-century helped India to cross the 150-mark from a horribly placed 115 for eight at one stage.
The famed Indian top order accumulated only 22 and the middle order too could resist only for a while. Jadeja’s 62-run ninth-wicket stand with Kuldeep Yadav (19) was the only saving grace for India in an otherwise disappointing batting performance.
“Things didn’t go as per plans. It was a good challenge upfront, though, as we can expect that in some places in England when conditions are overcast,” Kohli said during the post-match interview.
“We saw that in the latter half of the innings, when the lower order got stuck in, it was easier to score. From 50 for four, to get closer to 180 was a good effort. And of course, there wasn’t much in the pitch when we came out to bowl,” Kohli added.
Apart from praising Jadeja for his fightback, Kohli also patted Hardik Pandya and Mahendra Singh Dhoni for their attempts of a resistance after India were reeling at 39 for four.
“In a tournament like the World Cup, the top order can misfire sometimes, so Hardik getting runs, MS absorbing pressure and Jadeja’s half-century were certainly positives.
“We bowled well, I think… They (New Zealand) were going at four, 4.5 per over… And looking at that in isolation, we did well…
“Fielders are going to play a crucial role, while half chances will be massive… In other words, we’ll have to be precise in all three aspects,” Kohli stressed.
His teammate Jadeja, too, didn’t sound very worried because of this defeat. “Whenever you play in England, it’s always difficult.
“You have low bounce in India, then you come here and find that the wicket can have a little bit in it. We still have a little bit of time to work on it. We don’t have to worry, we just need to keep playing good cricket,” the all-rounder said.
The batting unit has to focus more on its skills, Jadeja added. “We focused on momentum. If we got that, then we could play according to the situation.
“Batting in England can be tough, so as a batting unit, we’ll have to focus more on our skills. But I’m sure it will come through as everyone has a lot of experience.
“This was just our first game here, so there isn’t anything to worry about as a batting unit. We have a lot of experience and it’s just one game (where things didn’t go well). You can’t really judge after just one bad innings.”
Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, who took a wicket and gave away just two runs off the four overs he bowled, Jadeja was the only other performer for India. With his hard work at nets paying off, Jadeja looks to keep up his good work in the matches ahead.
