Adelaide (Australia): Following his side’s 10-wicket loss to England, India head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that his side should have gotten at least 180-185 runs on the Adelaide surface and his team was outplayed in all departments by England.
Top knocks from openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler powered England to an emphatic 10-wicket win over India in the second semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in Australia at Adelaide on Thursday.
“Obviously disappointed to finish at the semi-finals. We would have liked to go a couple of steps further. But we were outplayed and outclassed. England was the better team in every department and the scoreline shows that,” said Dravid in a press conference.
“We have been batting well. We were one of those teams who got 180-plus scores here (in Australia) two to three times in this tournament. When we started, the boys said it (surface) was tacky and slow. At the end of 15-over mark, we were around 15-20 runs short. In death overs, we were good, with Hardik being brilliant. We should have got 180-185 at the end,” he added.
Dravid appreciated England for their all-round efforts.
Asked about his thoughts on the team’s campaign, Dravid said that the tournament will be reflected upon by the team.
“I think overall, we had a pretty good campaign. We played some good T20I cricket. We had our moments in this tournament. Some individuals showed quality and skills. But today, we were just not good enough. I am sure we can look back on it and move forward,” he added.
On the future of senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar etc in the shorter format, Dravid said that it is too early to talk about it.
Dravid admitted that playing overseas T20I leagues would help Indian players but it has its share of challenges.
“Our boys do miss out on such opportunities. BCCI is there to take decisions. But if all players are allowed to play in such leagues, we would not have our domestic cricket. Ranji etc would be finished, Test cricket would be finished. We have to understand the challenges that Indian cricket faces in such situations. Our boys are being asked to play in such leagues. But then playing Tests is also important for the format,” he added.
With this, the final between England and Pakistan is set.
Put to bat first by England, India posted 168/6 in their 20 overs. Hardik Pandya (63 off 33 balls) and Virat Kohli (50 off 40 balls) were the stars for Men in Blue with the bat. They put on a crucial stand of 61-runs for the fourth wicket.
Pacer Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/43. Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes got a wicket each.
Chasing 169, England put pressure on Indian bowlers right from the first over. India did not have any answer for the onslaught brought by Jos Buttler (80*) and Alex Hales (86*). England chased the total with all ten wickets in hand with four overs to spare.
Hales (86* off 47 balls) was adjudged as the ‘Man of the Match’.
Brief Score: India: 168/6 (Hardik Pandya 63, Virat Kohli 50; Chris Jordan 3-43) vs England: 170/0 in 16 overs (Alex Hales 86*, Jos Buttler 80*) (ANI).
This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Also read: England’s Jos Buttler, Alex Hales rip India apart to reach T20 World Cup final — key takeaways