Look, from the situation we were in from there reaching 307 is a very commendable total. Definitely, some parts of the game don’t favor us and but this is learning for us and so we can go and give a fight in the next game with new ideas and also a little bit about the wicket. According to me, 307 was a good total.
Last time you came here, you had the 50s consecutively in all three ODIs and started from there. If you look at the last few months, how easy or difficult? if you are playing only one format now, do you come back and then start in that form?
Recently, I played T20 here, we have got two sessions for practice, but as you said it is not easy to play here, directly now I came from India and played here. The wicket keep changing here you don’t get the same wickets everywhere, so I think that is the only challenge you face and you have to be mentally strong. In all these situations I started to have to add to it.
What was the team discussion, how to pick the wickets when the thing is going on I know there is no magic bullet to it.
Kane and Tom have played a fantastic knock. They know whom to target and the way Tom took that over, I think that completely shifted the momentum toward them. He wanted to come in, and build a partnership, and since they have been playing together so they know the strength and weaknesses pretty closely I believe that partnership completely changes the scenario of the game and that was a crucial phase for us as well to get the wicket and if we would have got one wicket we would have been under their skin and situation would have been different but Kudos to them the way they found that strength in that phase and converted loose delivery by brilliant, boundaries sixes and they were fearless and I feel that helped them to reach there.
The T20 World Cup is over now and all the focus is on the ODI World Cup to be held in India. There are so many options for one place. It a different format obviously series are happening back to back so some players are here some will play in Bangladesh. In that sense, a match for a leg like yours because you know the senior players will also come. How important is it and what is your approach to it?
The approach obviously remains optimistic. I don’t like to think too far ahead. What is in my hands right now is to train and as the back-to-back games are happening now, I want to see it in that. My fitness level is very good and keeps performing consistently and staying in the present. This is my mindset and more players will keep coming and going, this is where consistency is going to matter so that is my mindset. Right now, good and bad will keep happening, and ups and downs keep happening. No one’s career is stable, so I try to motivate myself in any way when I am in a bad situation. I’m just trying to be in my zone and that only helps me.
There is a saying in Hindi that either we win or we learn. What is the learning of the Indian team from today’s match?
Today we will learn that whenever we got that one wicket, I think we could have created a little more pressure on them like when Latham came and gave them a good start if we used to do a little bit in the situation, then definitely we would have been on top of them and at that time, if some fielders were in some attacking position and used to stay right in front of batters, some if we could try to build more pressure, then I think that some changes could have been made. But again as you have said this is learning and in the next match, we will see how much we could score because in 50 overs you can’t keep energy for the whole time. But when that partnership also reached 200, there was a slight lockdown fielder were low and there was soft ground. It is very cold, and we all had hands that were cool. And that too is a bit tough for fielding because the ball hits the hand very hard, it is not a habit to come, but will have to be hit now
Can you tell me the best thing? Talking about England. In this way, they have changed the temper of ODI cricket. Came in T20 and there was criticism of India that we were just a conservative team?
Now again there is World Cup in ODI cricket. What do you think that the same T20I which used to know earlier as a smaller version of ODI? Now, T20 has turned upside down that it is a slightly bigger version of 20, so what’s your batting approach should probably be the same as in T20 from the very first balls.
Yes, if you go now, you cannot play straight in the T20 mood because In 50 over format every player has a lot of time and if you see the wicket you will know that it is a par score. So according to that, you can plan your batting and you have to adapt on the wicket. Because every wicket will not play the match and 50 overs is such a big game that it can change from time to time. After 10 overs something may be different because sunsets happen then dew comes then you don’t know how the wicket will play exactly. See, the mindset should be to score runs and the bowlers also come with strategies. It is not that we can play on the same flow, which happens in T20.
After this short series when the Senior player will return what are the changes, you are expecting in this team?
Then I don’t know about the changes, or what can happen in a match. And this is the job of management, not mine and we will see if they go through with our preparations. And the process will be accurate and we will rest tomorrow.
