Maxwell reached his 100 in just 50 balls and ended the match unbeaten on 113. (PTI Photo)Virat Kohli admitted that India were completely outplayed by Australia in the two-match T20I series. India lost the second T20I by seven wickets which confirmed a 2-0 series loss for them – Kohli’s first at home as captain in any format.
“It was a pretty short series to summarise the performances. Australia outplayed us in all departments and deserved to win. 190 is a good total on most grounds but if there is so much dew as there was tonight and when you have an innings like what Glenn Maxwell played, nothing much you can do,” said the Indian captain in the post-match presentation.
Kohli said that the presence of due made it difficult for the bowlers to contain the Australians and that, coupled with Glenn Maxell’s sensational knock of 113 off 55 balls, contributed to the defeat. “Every team is looking to take each game like that but it’s also important to win matches. We would have liked to get across the line in at least this game but I can’t be too hard on the bowlers due to the amount of dew,” said the 30-year-old.
The ODI series between the two sides now starts Saturday and Kohli said that the team would continue to experiment and give players game time ahead of the World Cup. “We wanted to give everyone some game time, we’ve seen how they react under pressure, there is a series coming up and we’ll try more things. It’s up to them to deliver the goods,” he said.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. KL Rahul got them off to a good start with a 61-run opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan. Rahul fell to Nathan Coulter-Nile for 47 and Shikhar Dhawan, who was struggling throughout his innings soon followed suit. Rishabh Pant was dismissed on one thanks to a stunner of a catch from Jhye Richardson.
But Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni then shored up the innings, sharing a 100-run stand for the fifth wicket Dhoni was dismissed in 40 but Kohli remained unbeaten on 72.
Australia struggled in the beginning but Glenn Maxwell got going with D’Arcy Short and Peter Handscomb proving to be able partners. Maxwell reached his 100 in just 50 balls and ended the match unbeaten on 113.
