India vs Australia: Middle overs during batting cost us the game: Virat Kohli

The final T20 was a dead rubber as the Men in Blue had already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead. Following Tuesday’s loss, skipper Virat Kohli said that India’s batting performance in the middle overs was the reason behind the loss.

Speaking after the loss, the Indian skipper said that looking at the way Hardik Pandya had been batting, he thought they could win the final T20 and complete a whitewash. But eventually the hosts defeated the visitors by 12 runs.

“At one stage when Hardik started going we thought we could pull it off. The middle over phase during our batting cost us the game. A partnership of 30-odd would’ve made it easier for Hardik,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

After losing the ODI series 1-2, the Virat Kohli-led side will be content after they won the T20 series. Furthermore, with the crowd back in the stands, Kohli said it always helped the team when the fans backed them.

“We are finding ways to come back and give the opposition a scare and the series win in a little asterisk for us to finish the 2020 season on a high,” stated the skipper.

Kohli further added, “I feel the crowd was a factor as well, it’s always giving you a dimension of motivation. Our crowd pulls us through sometimes, and Australia’s too, and we as players feed off the crowd’s energy,” said Kohli.

India will now lock horns with Australia in a four-match Test series which gets underway on December 17. Skipper Kohli, who has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI, will only be available for the first Test.

The test series will be a part of the World Test Championship. The first test will be a day-night affair.