XtraTime Web Desk: India’s star opener Shikhar Dhawan feels that Indian cricket team has wrongly read the pitch conditions back to back two times in the series ad that’s the reason behind their losses.
Aaron Finch’s team has leveled the series on Sunday after they chased down a record total of 359 runs in the fourth ODI. The Men in Blue lost the game despite of a magical knock by Shikhar Dhawan (143).
In the previous encounter in Ranchi, India had decided to chase a 320 plus score as they felt that dew would set in and it didn’t.
“We had expected dew would be a factor in the last game and it didn’t come and here, we didn’t expect dew in this game and it came very heavily,” Dhawan said after the match.
After scoring 358, they had thought that there will be pressure on Australia but it turned the other way round.
“So of course, when you put such a totals on the board, it’s always pressure for the other sides and not our bowlers and we were quite in control till 38th over. But then ball started coming so nicely and the bounce was true that you could play any shot on that surface,” Dhawan said.
The dew didn’t allow the deliveries from the spinners to grip the surface.
“Because of the dew, the ball was not gripping and of course he (Ashton Turner) played really a good knock and took the game away. But he couldn’t have played those shots had there been no dew,” Dhawan said.
The Indian opener gave rookie Ashton Turner a lot of credit for finishing an improbable chase.
“I would give credit to him (Turner) for playing with such composure and took the game away from us. All his shots were on the roof and yes, he played really well,” Dhawan added.