India skipper Virat Kohli on Friday mentioned star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has not bowled within the ongoing ODI sequence as a part of his workload administration forward of essential assignments just like the tour of England later this yr.
Pandya had bowled effectively within the T20 sequence, giving India an additional choice. In ODIs, India have caught to the standard five-bowler technique.
The sequence is at present tied 1-1 after England chased down 337 within the second ODI right here on Friday with Jonny Bairstow (124) and Ben Stokes (99) combining to decimate the house assault.
“We need to manage his (Hardik) body. Need to understand where we need this skill set. (We) did utilise him in the T20Is but in the ODIs, it’s about managing his workload,” Kohli mentioned within the post-match presentation.
“We have Test cricket in England coming up too. So it’s important for us to have him fit,” added Kohli, hinting that Pandya might be within the scheme of issues for that high-profile sequence in August.
The 27-year-old Pandya underwent a again surgical procedure in October 2019 and made a comeback with the IPL final yr however didn’t bowl.
He did bowl as soon as throughout the restricted overs sequence in Australia however that was that.
He was a part of the Test squad for the house sequence in opposition to England and used the time on the sidelines to prepare for his full fledged bowling comeback with the T20s.
He final performed Test cricket for India again in 2018, by the way in England. His appearances within the longest format add as much as solely 11.
England completely blew us away: Kohli
India skipper Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his group was blown away by some “amazing batting” from Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes as England chased down 337 with consummate ease to stage the three-match ODI sequence.
Put in to bat, India posted 336 for six however Bairstow and Stokes butchered the Indian bowlers, including 175 runs off 117 balls, as England gunned down the goal in simply 43.3 overs.
“I think we set quite a decent total on the board. It was going to be challenging if we stayed in the game for long periods. I think we started off really well with the new ball but still England found a way to get a 100 run partnership,” Kohli mentioned.
“We didn’t execute too well but I thought they batted brilliantly tonight. It was some of the most amazing batting you’ll see when chasing. They totally blew us away during that partnership of Jonny and Ben Stokes. We didn’t even have a chance during that partnership.”
Asked if dew performed a job, Kohli mentioned: “I don’t assume the dew performed any function in any respect. The ball wasn’t troublesome to carry. You may say the wicket settles down a bit below lights however that’s no excuse.
“When two of the perfect groups on the earth collide, one in all them goes to win convincingly. Last time we got here again. This time England didn’t give us something in any respect.
“It’s quite rare that if you play with that strike rate and give no chances. It shows the quality of batting.”
Kohli, nonetheless, was pleased with the batting effort of his group, particularly centurion KL Rahul (108 off 114), Rishabh Pant (77 off simply 40) and Hardik Pandya (35 off 16).
“We lost two wickets early on and needed a partnership. That happened with KL and myself. KL carried on, really happy for him. Then Rishabh changed the game, and Hardik finished it off as well,” mentioned the India skipper, who scored 66 off 79.
Kohli has been scoring essential fifties within the ongoing white-ball sequence however a century has eluded him thus far.
Asked if he ever gave it a thought, Kohli mentioned: “I by no means performed for 100s in my life, that’s most likely why I ended up getting so many (70) in such little time.
“It’s all about contributing to the team cause. If the team doesn’t win when you get three figures it doesn’t mean anything. You’re not going to sit back at the end of your career and look at numbers, it’s more about how you played the game.”
England skipper Jos Buttler was delighted on the approach his group made a comeback after shedding the opening ODI by 66 runs.
“I think the most pleasing thing for us as a team is we didn’t go away from our values as a team. We were bitterly disappointed after the first ODI,” he mentioned.
“Great chase and happy we were able to go over the line fairly easily despite India putting up a big total.”
Buttler mentioned his group didn’t transfer away from their model of aggressive cricket regardless of the loss.
“Better wicket to be honest but we don’t really fear any totals to be honest. It could have been easy to rein ourselves in after the last game but from a personal and team point of view, it was important to play as we do,” he mentioned.
Adjudged Man of the Match for his 112-ball 124, Jonny bairstow mentioned it was good to get to 3 figures after lacking out the final time.
“Disappointed to miss out in the last game, delighted to get over the line in this one,” mentioned the England opener, who had scored 94 within the first ODI.
“The thought course of was the identical just like the final recreation, precisely the identical recreation plan. Ben performed some entertaining strokes down the bottom, Jason (Roy) was going all weapons blazing on the prime.
“They bowled well at the start, especially Bhuvi. The relationship we (Bairstow and Roy) got at the top of the order is great, hopefully it continues. The shot I played over deep cover, I enjoyed that the most.”