Kohli blames missed chances, dew factor

MOHALI: Shikhar Dhawan conceded that India had read the pitch conditions wrong after Australia pulled off a stunning win in the fourth ODI on Sunday.

“See, we expected that dew will come in the last game and it didn’t (in the Ranchi defeat). Today, we didn’t expect but it came heavily. So, of course if you put such a big total on the board, the pressure is on the other side. We were in control till 35-37 overs, but then the ball was coming so nice and true that they could play big shots,” he said after the match.

Virat Kohli acknowledged the dew made life difficult for the bowlers but slammed the players for not taking the chances. “The wicket remained good throughout. We’ve fallen on the wrong side of the dew in two games, but that’s not an excuse. Five chances in the last few overs is a hard spill to swallow,” he said at the presentation.

Dhawan too blamed the dew. In Ranchi, it didn’t appear after India elected to chase, while it did with a vengeance in Mohali. He praised Turner, who was playing only in his second ODI, for his match-winning knock. “Credit to him, his composure was good and all the shots he played went sailing over the ropes. It was a good knock,” he said.

India’s bowlers were at sea in the slog overs after Australia were left to get 98 in the last 10 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was hammered, going for 37 runs in his last two overs – 20 in the 45th and 18 in the 47th —he bowled.

Dhawan said the dew made it difficult for the spinners to grip the ball. “The dew was already there, the ball wasn’t gripping, Turner played a good knock and took the game away from us. But for the dew he couldn’t have played those shots.”