Sydney, Feb 1: India’s poor run abroad continued as they lost the first T20I to Australia by 31 runs. In the post-match presentation skipper MS Dhoni hoped they could turn things around in the next match at Melbourne.
Excerpts:
On whether he would have chosen to bat first
Of course, [given] the way the wicket behaved in the second innings. The five ODIs that we played in England we lost because the wicket got wet with all the rain droplets around. What’s surprising over here is that it didn’t rain in the second half [but] all of sudden the wicket started to turn and there was variable bounce at the same time. So learning from mistakes didn’t help this time. It seems as if the wicket got worse to bat on in the second innings.
On being positive about the future
We tend to forget that at the end of the day it is a sport and the team that plays better cricket will win games. It’s not that if you come from a particular country you have the right to win the game. You have to do well on the field. Matthew Wade batted really well and was supported by David Hussey; and David Warner gave them a good start. We got off to a good start but were not able to capitalise on it. On a wicket like this what really matters is that if somebody gets in, he must go on till the end. The rest of the batsmen can come and chip in. It becomes a very different ball game once you have close to 30-odd balls, you need 50-55 runs and you have wickets in hand; then their bowler is under pressure.
On the next match at Melbourne
We will do well there.
