Fielding errors perhaps cost India the match was the line that Bhuvneshwar Kumar adopted in the post-match press-conference here on Sunday. After India lost to South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup clash at the Optus Stadium, the Indian seamer declared that around 140 is the par score at this venue and the team came close to that but some chances were not taken and that may have affected the result.
“I can’t really highlight one particular moment but yes a catch being missed, run outs too, probably affected our chances. But even then we took it to the last over,” Bhuvneshwar said while refusing to draw any excuse from the prevailing cold weather. “It was cold in Melbourne too and we were aware of the conditions. There wasn’t much talk about the weather and we tried to stick to our plans,” he said.
Meanwhile Aiden Markram admitted that South Africa had its lucky streak: “We got some chances and the rub of the green went in our favour today, some days it doesn’t, so we are grateful. The ball was nipping around a bit and we had to watch carefully and after 10 overs we tried to rush it a bit,” the batter said after playing a key role in South Africa’s five-wicket victory.
Markram stressed that the pacers stuck to their plans, bowling short and forcing some horizontal shots. “The pitch had some bounce and the bowlers used that,” he said and also added that targetting R. Ashwin was part of the plan: “On this pitch we knew we had to hit against spin and take a chance and we did that.” And will he miss playing at Perth after this in the tournament? “Not me as a batter but am sure our fast bowlers will,” Markram said with a laugh.
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