JOIN US Playing down the Nagpur debacle in their World T20 opener, Ravichandran Ashwin said India would put behind the loss to New Zealand and bounce back like only they can. India, chasing Kiwis’ 126/7 were bowled out for 79 in a 47-run defeat, take on Pakistan on Saturday in their second match that is almost a do or die match for them.
“I think if ever there is an international team that can put it behind and go forward then it’s us,” said Ashwin on Friday. “And it’s not the first time it has happened to us. We have done it in the past. I can’t really a put a finger and say why it is so but I think we have got the wherewithal to comeback from that game. That’s what we have been looking forward to.
Let’s just assume we go through to the final despite what happened in the previous game. In 2014 we hadn’t lost a game and there was every chance that we will lose the final. So (using the same logic) why not from here on if we go through to the final, will we be more dangerous than we were at the start of the tournament?” he asked.
Since their defeat on Tuesday, India held their full-fledged practice session on Friday with only Suresh Raina, Pawan Negi and Ajinkya Rahane having some optional practice on Thursday. Ashwin, however, said the approach wasn’t a deliberate strategy ahead of Pakistan game.
“I think it was more about trying and relaxing. It had nothing to do with who we are playing, what game we are playing and all that. We have been on the road for the last three months and we thought it’s time now to sit in the hotel room and revisit what we did in the last game. The best thing that we can do is to think for ourselves than sitting together and practicing. What happens after a game like that is we tend to go into nervous practice, try and overdo everything and eventually end up going into the match a little more tired than we actually should be. That’s the idea behind it,” he reasoned.
India’s big loss in the opener has meant they have the poorest net run-rate in the group but Ashwin said they will be more focused on winning. “We’ll have to first win,” he noted. “It’s very simple as far as we are concerned, we’ll have to go and look to win those games. Net run rate is something that has to fall in place; we can take a decision on that, when we are in a position to act on the run-rate.”