Vettori questions India’s approach
ever-impressive Lockie Ferguson.
McMillan didn’t believe there were mental scars from the Australia defeat.
‘‘I don’t think so. We enjoy playing Australia. We had them on the rack for a period of time. They’re a good side and we have to play near our best to get the result.
‘‘We weren’t far off and there’s areas we’ve reviewed. We’ll be better for that game; we’ve had a good look at them and they had a good look at us. Whoever we come up against in the semifinals will be a good match.’’ Former Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori was baffled by India’s lack of intent in their Cricket World Cup loss to England yesterday.
India ended up 31 runs short in their ‘chase’ for victory after England made an imposing 337-7 batting first at Edgbaston but still had five wickets remaining at the end of their 50 overs.
That saw them come under fire from media and fans alike, with some Indian supporters leaving the ground early as MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav scored singles instead of boundaries.
Speaking on Cricinfo, Vettori praised England’s tactics but also questioned India’s.
‘‘I thought the [England] game planning was great,’’ Vettori said.
‘‘I think the pitch allowed them to play that way and I also thought that Dhoni and Jadhav didn’t have the intent. I would have expected to see them clearing the front leg and trying to hit sixes every ball.
‘‘But there was still a lot of noodling it for one. They just had to go all out to try and win the game. It didn’t matter if they lost from there because it felt like they were going to lose anyway.
‘‘I think it was the nature of the bowling and the fields they set as well. They brought up everyone behind the wicket and then they allowed India to try and attack them straight down the ground – and they took pace off, they bowled wide, they bowled the occasional yorker and they mixed it up with the slower-ball bounces as well.’’
Dhoni finished 42 not out from 31 balls while Jadhav was 12no from 13 deliveries.
England hit 13 sixes and India just one in their first loss of the tournament.
‘‘We kept losing wickets and that doesn’t help in a big chase, but credit goes to England in the end,’’ said Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
‘‘It’s up to discussions with the two guys who were in there. I think MS Dhoni was trying really hard to get the boundary but it wasn’t coming off.
‘‘They bowled in good areas and the ball was stopping, hence it was difficult to bat towards the end.’’