India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday said the consolation win over Australia in the final ODI was made possible by the freshness that came with the changes in the squad.
India included Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur and T. Natarajan in place of Mayank Agarwal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami and Navdeep Saini.
“We were put under the pump in the first half and in the second half of Australia’s innings but pulled through. Shubman (Gill) and others coming in brought freshness. The team needed that kind of a boost,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation.
“I think the pitch was much better for the bowlers and the confidence levels went up. We were clinical with the ball and on the field,” he said. “Hopefully, we will take the momentum forward. I would have liked to bat for a bit longer, but it was a great partnership between Pandya and Jadeja.”
Pandya said competing against a team like Australia can be a massive driving force.
“It’s fantastic... you need to be on your toes to compete against Australia. I feel that you always have that extra edge in you when you play against Australia, you want to face up to that challenge,” he said.
Australia skipper Aaron finch was pleased with the fight his team put up in the absence of senior players like opener David Warner, and the pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
“I thought we fought really well. It was a great partnership between Hardik and Jadeja. If we got one of those wickets, we could have chased 240 max. Cameron Green (debutant) came in and made an impact with ball and bat, and showed he belongs here.
“Agar bowled beautifully, it was a good day in terms of the changes we made. The impact that the two spinners are having, that’s important. It’s nice when the guys in the top order contribute and then Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) can come in and do his thing with Carey and other guys,” he said.
He was also confident about Starc being fit for the T20 series beginning here on Friday.
“Hopefully he’s (Starc) ready for the T20Is. Was just a niggle,” added Finch.