Ruturaj Gaikwad spoke about the suitable conditions during the third T20I between India and Australia in Guwahati on Tuesday. Having slammed his maiden international century, Gaikwad was pleased with his individual effort even though it went in vain.
Gaikwad scored 123 runs from 57 balls to become the fifth Indian opener to hit a century in a T20I contest. However, it didn’t garner the desired outcome with Australia getting the job done in thrilling fashion on the final ball. Glenn Maxwell scored a century of his own to seal the victory for Australia.
India posted 222/3 on the scoreboard which handed Australia a hefty total to chase. Maxwell walked out to bat at No.4 with Australia losing their third wicket on 68 runs. At that stage, they still required 155 runs inside 13.4 overs to keep the series alive. Maxwell responded with Australia’s joint-fastest century in T20Is, needing 47 balls for a ton, to script a sensational fightback.
“I think Maxi batted really well, and to win from a situation where they needed 100 from seven, seven-and-a-half overs, and then 50 from three overs, it was a creditable innings from him.”
“Our bowlers tried executing what they had in their control, and the dew was making the ball slip, so it was tough for the bowlers as well. Even though we scored 230 in the last game, in between we felt the match will go till the last over, so with this kind of dew, these totals are bound to happen and bound to be chased.
“I don’t think death bowling is a concern. In these conditions, 12 runs an over, and even 13-14 runs an over is gettable. Even in the first game, we saw how easily we managed to chase 210. The conditions are slightly tougher for them so we have to accept that and move on.
Gaikwad spoke about his individual batting where he took twenty-odd balls to understand the surface before letting fly.
“Initially I thought it was a bit tacky, the ball was stopping a little, and there was some movement in the air and off the pitch. The first two-three overs, the wicket was like that, and we lost two wickets in one over. It was important to stitch a partnership but after 7-8 overs the wicket got better.”
“You cannot tend to lose three wickets in the powerplay. Knowing that Surya was there [and] he will play his shots, my plan and the communication was simple – that I will bat for a short span of time and [then] take the innings on.”
India lead the five-match series 2-1. The fourth T20I will be played in Raipur on Friday before the final fixture on Sunday in Bengaluru.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/dJCh1tw
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