“Indian pacers should learn from their Zimbabwean counterparts on how to make a better use of new balls,” says Indian captain Virat Kohli after India sealed the five-match series with third straight win by seven wickets. It was an impressive performance from the Indian bowlers, especially seamers, who claimed the early wickets to set a perfect tone for the emphatic win.
Vinay Kumar and Shami Ahmed were finding it hard but on Sunday they were looking absolutely spot-on with their line and length. Shami managed to end up with figures of 2/25 after his nine overs whereas Vinay Kumar took one wicket.
The reports in Times of India quoted Kohli saying, "Zimbabwe still have some inexperience in the (batting) line-up. Their bowlers have bowled in good areas. They know how to bowl on these wickets. They are using the two new balls well. Our fast bowlers can learn from them."
Kohli played another useful knock of unbeaten 68 runs when India were chasing the below-par total of 184. He said, "I am one of the few experienced guys in this side and I am trying to take the responsibility."
Amit Mishra was avowed man-of-the-match for another brilliant performance in this series. He ended up picking up four wickets which played a key role in India’s win.
He was quoted by Indian Express saying, "My bowling coaches always tell me to go for wickets and not worry about (conceding) runs. Whenever you take wickets, it puts pressure on the other side. There are a lot of upcoming players in the side and there is healthy competition."
Meanwhile Zimbabwean skipper Brendan Taylor was not much happy with the results that his side has seen in the last three matches especially after putting in good amount of hard work. But he hasn’t lost the hope of winning the next two ties which is going to be played in Bulawayo.
He was quoted by The Economic Times saying, "It is getting quite frustrating now. Leading up to the series the amount of work we put in that is not translating into results. Knowing the ability of the players, it is irritating."
"There is still lot to play for in Bulawayo. There have been soft dismissals and the guys need to toughen up mentally," he added.