After India lost the second ODI by two wickets, MS Dhoni said the extreme amount of dew had a major role to play in the result. That factor will be nullified in Kanpur, where the last ODI of India-West Indies series will be played on Wednesday, as it is a day game.
Addressing the media ahead of the match, Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar refused to blame the team’s defeat in Vizag to dew but admitted the team has to prepare well for a rare day-game.
“Yes, there was dew in the last ODI but it wasn’t an excuse to lose the match,” Bhuvneshwar said. “The reason why this match will be different is because we will be playing a day-game after a long time. We practiced in the morning today to get acclimatized to playing a day-game.
“I believe fielding is one area where we need to get acclimatized the most when it comes to switching from day-night to day match as it is a big factor.”
India’s loss in Vizag has opened up the series 1-1 and the match in Kanpur will determine who will lift the trophy. Bhuvneshwar said it has renewed the excitement in the series.
“Losing one game doesn’t mean we’re under extra pressure. West Indies too have come to win and they did it in the last game. I think that has made this series more interesting, making the last match a decider. Also, we are pretty high on morale because we didn’t lose the second ODI by a huge margin; it was a tight match,” said the Indian pacer.
It has been observed right from the ODI series against Australia that not all Indian pacers have been bowling their quotas of 10 overs and instead part-timers like Suresh Raina and, at times, even Rohit Sharma, have been used by Dhoni.
Bhuvneshwar denied the claim that it is important for a pacer’s morale to complete his quota. He understood it as a strategic decision by the captain to appoint a bowler who can exploit the conditions to the fullest.
“It completely depends on whether the wicket is assisting the seamers or spinners. If the spinners are doing well, there’s no point for the fast bowlers to bowl. The fact is that the team and the captain want to win the match and want wickets. It doesn’t matter who is taking those wickets and who is bowling how many overs,” Bhuvneshwar said.
Speaking of the tour to South Africa, the pacer said he wanted to do well in this match to begin the important tour with confidence.
