Finch takes blame for iffy start to chase

Aaron Finch blamed himself for Australia's defeat in the first T20 international, believing his 33-ball-44 had slowed his side down in the run chase. His innings had forced the rest of the batsmen to take big risks against India's spinners, the Australian captain felt.

Published : Jan 26, 2016 21:45 IST , Adelaide

Ravindra Jadeja (left) celebrates a wicket with Suresh Raina. India consistently chipped away at Australia's batting line-up to ensure victory, with Jadeja taking two crucial wickets at an economy rate of 5.25.
Ravindra Jadeja (left) celebrates a wicket with Suresh Raina. India consistently chipped away at Australia's batting line-up to ensure victory, with Jadeja taking two crucial wickets at an economy rate of 5.25.
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Ravindra Jadeja (left) celebrates a wicket with Suresh Raina. India consistently chipped away at Australia's batting line-up to ensure victory, with Jadeja taking two crucial wickets at an economy rate of 5.25.

Aaron Finch blamed himself for Australia's defeat in the first T20 international, believing his 33-ball-44 had slowed his side down in the run chase. His innings had forced the rest of the batsmen to take big risks against India's spinners, the Australian captain felt. “I allowed us to get too far behind the rate from the start,” Finch said. “David Warner and Steve Smith were outstanding in their intent. I couldn't get off strike and I couldn’t hit boundaries for a period there. So I take full responsibility for them and Travis getting out.”

Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin turned the game in India's favour as Australia slipped from 89 for one to 93 for four in the space of 13 balls. “It might have spun slightly more and we probably didn’t expect that,” Finch said. “But when you are chasing 9-10 an over against world-class spinners like Ashwin and Jadeja it is always going to be tough. When you are ultra-aggressive against them it works in their favour.”

Finch rues fielding lapses

For the second game in a row, Australia were left fretting over their fielding. Rohit Sharma could have been held twice - on four and 23 - while India was sharper on the boundary. “It is something that we need to look at, two games in a row now in two different formats that it has let us down,” Finch said. “It cost us a few runs there and didn’t give us that 170-type chase and obviously 18 runs is a lot in T20.”

M.S. Dhoni was pleased his bowlers, including the quicks, had delivered. “I know they lost quite a few wickets by the time the death overs came and they didn’t have proper batsmen batting, but I still felt Bumrah and Ashish Nehra executed their plans really well,” he said. “That’s one period where we have struggled consistently, so it’s good to see them bowl well.”

Ravindra Jadeja had given the team stability, Dhoni said. “Whenever there is a bit of help, he bowls well. His spectrum of performance is usually quite narrow. His good and bad performances -- there is less difference between them, which makes it slightly easy for us and gives us stability. That’s why Hardik was also playing this game, because if he also gets going, it gives us the kind of stability we are looking for. And in turn that can go into the ODI team also.”

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