AUS v IND 2018-19: Sourav Ganguly says no-result in second T20I a hitch for India

The second T20I between India and Australia was washed out.

Australian players walk off after rain interruption. | GETTY

Rain played a spoilsport for India in the T20I series against Australia as it took away an opportunity for them to win the series. India was given a revised target as per Duckworth Lewis System (DLS) to chase down 137 in 19 overs after rain interrupted Australia's innings when they were 132/7 in 19 overs. 

Indian bowlers performed way better than their bowling display in the first game. 

Commenting on the washed out game, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said it's a huge setback for the team. "It's a big setback for India as they could have won the match," Ganguly told IndiaTV. "India was in a good position to win the match but we can't do anything about the weather. We don't have any control over the rain," he added.

Not only Indian cricketers were disappointed, but a big number of the crowd at the stadium--around 60,000 fans-- also had to go back home without any result. 

India will now play to save the series and their chance of winning the series has been taken away.

Virat Kohli would hope for another good show by Indian bowlers in the last T20I. In the second match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 2/20, Jasprit Bumrah, 1/20, and Khaleel Ahmed, 2/39. Both the spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya bagged one wicket each.

"Indian bowlers performed well today. Khaleel bowled well too. So, I think it was sad for India that the match got washed out.

"It's very important to get early wickets, it changes the mindset of the team. If the Indian fielders could have held on to some of the catches, it would have built more pressure on the Aussies. However, I feel that India assessed the conditions well in Melbourne," Ganguly said.

India's catching has been a concern for the team. After drop chances in the first T20I, India faced the same issue in the second T20I. 

Ganguly wants India to improve in this area. "There's a simple saying in cricket that 'catches win matches'. Slip catching is very important in Australia, England, and South Africa. Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah dropped catches which they should have caught. India needs to improve their slip catching if they want to perform well in the Test series," he said.

India will play the last T20I against Australia on Sunday in Sydney.

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 24 Nov, 2018

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