Indian team was stretched in the opening game of the ICC T20 World Cup by minnows Afghanistan, man of the match Virat Kohli after the match said that the death over bowling is a worrying factor for the team, says a report in The Indian Express.
"I believe we could have done better as a bowling unit and won by a bigger margin. We could have bowled in better areas. I think our bowling in the initial overs has been pretty good but it is the bowling at the death that needs to improve," Kohli said.
On Afghanistan putting up a spirited performance, Kohli said, “That's exactly what happens when you play a lower-ranked opposition. They do not have the fear of failure. They are not concerned about the match situations and little things. Normally, in these situations, you find players expressing themselves well and doing the right things more often than not.”
On Indian openers poor form, the Delhi lad said, “Normally, when you hit a bad patch in the T20s, it tends to get stretched for a few matches but you need that one match to make a comeback. And in this format, a good start means 40-45 runs unlike ODIs where you need 85-90 run starts. I believe our openers are experienced and soon they would get big scores.”
Meanwhile, The DNA reports that that it was Yuvraj Singh who made the difference in the end with the crucial breakthroughs against Afghanistan.
Yuvraj got the wicket of his first ball and then comeback to provide back-to-back breakthroughs dismissing dangerous looking Karim Sadiq (26) and Asghar Stanikzai.