The Men in Blue have played their just international game before the 2019 World Cup. Just few months before the mega-tournament kicks off, the condition of Team India doesn’t look good.
After going up 2-0 in the series, they lost three consecutive games and conceded the series 2-3. They failed to defend a huge score of 358 in the fourth ODI and in the fifth, failed to chase down 273.
There was only one significant partnership of 91 runs between Kedar Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Apart from that the team looked out of contention and were bowled out for 237.
However skipper Virat Kohli doesn’t sound too dejected after the series loss. He said that he is happy with the brand of cricket the team has played ‘over the last few months’. However he also made it clear that there is ‘one spot in the side that needs some discussion’.
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The team needs to understand their role
“The guys will reflect on the series quite a bit. It’s been a long season, and we can be proud of the cricket we have played over the last few months. Both teams played with equal intensity but the deserving side won in the end as I said before. We are more or less sorted with what we want to do. The guys just need to get their roles for the World Cup and expect them to stand up and deliver.
“Just one spot in the side that needs some discussion. The last three games were all about giving the fringe guys some chances, but that’s not an excuse at all,” said Kohli in the post-match presentation.
Kohli didn’t reveal any details, but it is pretty obvious that he was speaking about the number four spot. The experimentation with that spot is going on since 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
It seemed that Ambati Rayudu had sealed the spot for himself. But in recent times his inconsistency has been a big headache for the team. Now the team might take the out-of-form player to the tournament, or they might try another player right in the competition.
The team doesn’t need any motivation
Many think that the series loss might dent India’s confidence for the upcoming mega event. But the 30-year-old skipper believes otherwise. He feels that no one needs extra motivation for the event. The team needs to just relive the big moments and perform well.
“You don’t need any motivation for the World Cup. All the sides will enjoy the tournament. Full stadiums. We just want to relive the big moments and do well in the World Cup,” the Indian skipper said.