Virat Kohli: Ravichandran Ashwin was called to India on Wednesday with a Super 12 victory over Afghanistan. Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made an impressive 2-14 with a white-ball comeback but said it was the best thing that could have happened to India. Which completely dominated Afghanistan at the T20 World Cup.
Highlights
- Virat Kohli hailed R Ashwin’s display vs Afghanistan
- The veteran spinner had last played an international game in June
- He was named in the playing XI instead of Varun Chakaravarthy
Captain Kohli said on Wednesday. Ashwin, who played the white ball game four years later, was one of India’s 66-run victory architects against Afghanistan, who continued to take advantage of the small chances of reaching the semi-finals.
“The return of Ash was the biggest positive, it was something he has worked really hard for,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation when asked what was the biggest takeaway from the win.
“He (Ashwin) showed this control and rhythm in the IPL as well. He’s a wicket-taker and a smart bowler as well.”
Ashwin, who played the last international match at the World Test Championship in June, finally entered the match almost four and a half months later
You may also like: Cricket Betting & Cricket Sports
India achieved a net execution rate after significantly defeating Afghanistan. Kohli acknowledged that NRR is a deep-seated player in their hearts. Game player Rohit Sharma said the team wanted to get off to a good start, but not in the first two games.
“Much better wicket as well, to be fair. In the other two games as well, if we just had two overs of that free-flowing batting capability, that could have sent the message to the opposition that we’ve put them under pressure.
Named after the XI performance, it was named after Varun Chakravarthy, a mystery spinner who had problems with his left calf. Kohli said Sharjah’s pitch was a much better wicket than the previous two games and his club was able to come up with a free-flowing stroke.
“T20 is a very instinctive game, even in terms of decision-making. The top three is more or less set unless something like today happens when the top two go on until over 14 or 15.”
Virat Kohli said India is unlikely to reach the semi-finals
“We spoke in the team meeting that we have to focus on the small chance we have (to qualify). And stay positive and hunt that chance down.”
Asked if the team had come out to go all out, Kohli said, “We don’t decide we’re going all out. We back the guys because they’re so skillful, and sometimes it comes off like today.
“To give credit to the opposition, they bowled really well in the first two matches. And didn’t let us get away.”
He said the team knew the run rate could work and wanted to win by a considerable margin.
Afghan captain Mohammad Nabi said his team wanted to finish in second place. Due to baptism factors, and Wicket seemed really defeated.
“In the end, there wasn’t that much dew. But India batted really well on this pitch and put our bowlers under pressure. We didn’t rotate strike well in the middle, and we threw away our wickets and got under pressure.”
Click here: Rohit Sharma called Rahul Dravid “A Stalwart Of Indian Cricket” Appointment As Team India Head Coach
Read more about: Rahul Dravid as Team India Coach says “The wall returns to rebuild” in T20 World Cup
Visit also: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma Break A 14-Year Record Set By Virender Sehwag And Gautam Gambhir
