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It was not a good start for the Indian team led by Virat Kohli in Australia as they fell to the hosts in the first ODI in Sydney by 66 runs to go 1-0 down in the three-game ODI series. While the Indian team did well with the bat, reaching 308/8 in 50 despite going 101/4 at one point, the bowling and fielding efforts left the team disappointed. The Indian pacemakers were punished by Aaron Finch and Steve Smith, and catches and field errors didn’t help the visitors one bit. The 375 target turned out to be too much for India to chase despite solid batting conditions.
Veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh believes the Indian team played good patch cricket, but sloppy fielding and dropped catches affected the pace of the players and thus the rest of the team.
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“Things did not turn out like India. I would say India played good cricket (in Sydney) but in patches. But yeah, the fielding was a bit sloppy, a lot of field errors, a lot of missed catches, ”Harbhajan said on India Today Live.
“In the international arena, you will want to take every (and every catch) that comes your way, but sadly that didn’t happen today. If the players are not supporting the pitcher, the pitcher will be injured. That’s what happened today, ”added Harbhajan Singh.
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“I think that apart from (Mohammad) Shami, everyone had a bad day. This was the first game and playing in Australia you have to adapt to the rebound and the conditions. All the lengths you need for bowling. So the Indian bowling alley, to begin with, threw the initial jumps a bit short with the new ball, ”he further said.
“It could have seemed to pitch a little fuller for an early advance, which it didn’t happen, and that’s one of the reasons Australia got a lot of runs on the board that weakened India’s chances while chasing,” concluded Harbhajan.
India and Australia will play the second ODI on Sunday in Sydney.
