India skipper Virat Kohli blamed poor death overs bowling for the 35-run loss to Australia in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI), here on Wednesday.
The Australians rode a century from in-from opener Usman Khawaja and a half-century by Peter Handscomb to post 272/9 before dismissing the hosts for 237 runs to claim the match and the series.
“Yeah, we thought it was a gettable target. They got away from us a little bit at the end, and 15-20 more than we thought we were going to concede. One or two overs can make a whole lot of difference. But if you look at the overall series, Australia played with more passion, hunger and heart and they deserved to win,” Kohli said after the match.
“They were brave in pressure situations compared with us, especially in the last 3 games the way they handled the pressure, they really deserved to win,” he said.
Admitting that Australia were the better team in the five-match series, Kohli revealed the World Cup squad is more or less set.
“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,” he said.
“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 needs some discussion. The last three games were all about giving the fringe guys some chances, but that’s not an excuse at all. 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.”
IANS
