Indian captain Virat Kohli blamed poor bowling in the death overs for the 35-run loss to Australia in the last One-Day International (ODI) of five-match series on Wednesday.
With the help of a brilliant century from in-form opener Usman Khawaja and a half-century by middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb, Australia posted 272 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Following the target, Team India was dismissed for 237 runs and Australia won the match by 35-run to claim the series 3-2.
“Yeah, we thought it was a gettable target. They got away from us a little bit at the end, and 15-20 more than we thought we were going to concede. One or two overs can make a whole lot of difference. But if you look at the overall series, Australia played with more passion, hunger and heart and they deserved to win,” Kohli said after the match.
“They were brave in pressure situations compared with us, especially in the last three games the way they handled the pressure, they really deserved to win,” Kohli added.
The 30-year-old Indian skipper also admitted that Australia were the better team in the limited overs series. “The guys will reflect on the series quite a bit. It’s been a long season, and we can be proud of the cricket we have played over the last few months. Both teams played with equal intensity, but the deserving side won in the end as I said before.”
When asked Kohli revealed the World Cup squad is more or less set. “We are more or less sorted with what we want to do,” Kohli said.
“The guys just need to get their roles for the World Cup and expect them to stand up and deliver. Just one spot in the side needs some discussion. The last three games were all about giving the fringe guys some chances, but that’s not an excuse at all. You don’t need any motivation for the World Cup. All the sides will enjoy the tournament. Full stadiums. We just want to relive the big moments and do well in the World Cup,” Kohli concluded.