Australia skipper Steve Smith has admitted that his team were surprised by the way the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium behaved after the 5-wicket loss against India in the first ODI.
The iconic venue is known for producing high scoring matches but the series-opener between India and Australia turned out to be an exception. Asked to bat first, Australia were in a strong position at one stage. In the 20th over, they were comfortably placed at 129 for 2 with Mitchell Marsh’s fifty leading the charge with the bat.
However, once the allrounder was dismissed for 81, Australia’s innings completely derailed. In no time, they lost their last 8 wickets for just 59 runs to be all out for 188 in the 36th over. India’s pace twins Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami picked up 3 wickets apiece.
Australia started well with the ball and had India reeling at 16 for 3 and then 83 for 5. However, an unbeaten 71 from KL Rahul and an unbeaten 45 from Ravindra Jadeja helped India cross the finishing line with ease in the end.
Steve Smith on loss:
Speaking at the end of the game, Steve Smith began by admitting that the pitch behaved unexpectedly. While he gave credit to India, he also indirectly stated that Australia might have won the game with a score of 250 runs.
“We weren’t expecting this at the Wankhede, usually pretty good scores. India bowled really well. We left a few out there. If we had got over 250, it would have been interesting the way the ball was swinging and seaming. KL and Jaddu’s partnership was really good when they were under pressure,” Steve Smith said at the post-match presentation.
“We started pretty well. Mitch played really nicely and took the game on early and got a few away and kept going. We lost too many wickets in the middle. We were always one partnership from them beating us – Jadeja and Rahul showed how to do it. It was offering a fair bit for the seamers at times. The ball swung. We needed a few more runs. Credit to India,” he added.
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