India vs Australia: “The middle over phase cost us,” says Virat Kohli after 3rd T20I loss

India vs Australia: “The middle over phase cost us,” says Virat Kohli after 3rd T20I loss

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli 3
Virat Kohli

India fell short in the 3rd T20I against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground by 12 runs on Tuesday. In a match that pretty much followed the template of the 2nd T20I at the same venue, the only change was that India couldn’t pull through at the end. Matthew Wade shone for Australia once again to ensure Australia got to a big score. He was supported terrifically by Glenn Maxwell.

In the second innings, India seemed poised to chase the total down but regular wickets and Mitchell Swepson’s excellent spell hurt them. Skipper Virat Kohli got 85 runs but was unable to take his side home as he ran out of partners and eventually lost his wicket as well. With the loss, the T20I series ended 2-1 in favor of the Men in Blue.

‘We are finding ways to come back always’

Virat Kohli 5
Virat Kohli

Speaking at the post-match presentation after the loss and stated as to what went wrong in the 3rd match. “At one stage when Hardik started going we thought we could pull it off. The middle over phase during our batting cost us the game. A partnership of 30-odd would’ve made it easier for Hardik. We are finding ways to come back and give the opposition a scare and the series win is a little asterisk for us to finish the 2020 season on a high,” Kohli said.

Kohli also spoke about the impact of the returning crowds saying, “I feel the crowd was a factor as well, it’s always giving you a dimension of motivation. Our crowd pulls us through sometimes, and Australia’s too, and we as players feed off the crowd’s energy.”

Talking about the upcoming Test series which will begin on the 17th of December. “We need to take the same competitive attitude into the Tests, and having played here a few times, we can score runs as well. Once it’s time to capitalize and score, we need to do that session by session. I’m sure the current side is stronger than last time (Test matches) and I’ll see if I can play the tour match,” Kohli signed off.

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