CWC 2019: Virat Kohli baffled by flat track and short boundaries at Edgbaston
Indian captain Virat Kohli was taken aback by the playing conditions offered at their game against England at Edgbaston on Sunday (30th June).
Batting first, the host side started off brilliantly and squashed the Indian bowlers to all corners. England openers took cognizance of the shorter boundary on one side of the ground and targeted the area to take risks. The strategy worked as the batting side amassed 337 runs in the first innings. India fell short in the chase by 31 runs.
Speaking in the post-match interview, Kohli expressed his surprise at how various factors came together in one of the biggest matches of this World Cup. “The toss was vital, especially looking at the boundaries that are so short. And it’s a coincidence that it just falls under the limitations of the shortest boundary you can have in the tournament. Quite bizarre on a flat pitch, it’s the first time we are experiencing this. It’s crazy that things fall in place like that randomly,” Kohli said with a touch of sarcasm.
In a global tournament, it is ICC who oversees the playing conditions and not the England and Wales Cricket Board. According to the ICC guidelines, no boundary should be shorter than 65 yards/59.43 metres. The shortest boundary in the India-England game was 59 metres, which met the minimum requirement.
The short boundary posed plenty of problems for India’s spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. “If batsmen are able to reverse sweep you for a six on a 59-metre boundary then there is not much you can do as a spinner,” Kohli added. Chahal ended up conceding 88 runs from his 10 overs without taking a wicket. It was the most expensive spell in ODIs by an Indian spinner.
India faltered in the tall chase and fell short by 31 runs. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav received flak for batting too slow in the end overs. Kohli defended the approach. He said, “I think MS was trying really hard to get the boundary but it wasn’t coming off. They bowled in good areas and the ball was stopping, hence it was difficult to bat towards the end. We have to sit and assess and improve on things in the next game.”
India are currently placed second on the points table with five wins from their seven matches (one lost, one no result). They need to win one of their remaining two matches to confirm their spot in the semi-finals.
