"Even 15-16 runs per over is chasable in these conditions"- Gaikwad

After scripting his maiden T20I ton for India. Ruturaj Gaikwad strolled into the press conference looking his lethal best. It was hard to tell if his team had won or lost the match, as he explained the difficult conditions and the impasse it posed for India early on. 

“Initially I thought it was a bit tacky, the ball was stopping a little, and there was some movement in the air and off the pitch. The first two-three overs, the wicket was like that, and we lost two wickets in one over. It was important to stitch a partnership but after 7-8 overs the wicket got better."

On his unexpected rush after his first twenty old balls, Gaikwad spoke about how he controlled his aggression initially to adapt to the playing conditions and ensure that a platform was built with a partnership with skipper Suryakumar Yadav yet to bat

 "You cannot tend to lose three wickets in the powerplay. Knowing that Surya was there [and] he will play his shots, my plan and the communication was simple - that I will bat for a short span of time and [then] take the innings on."

However, despite a monumental total of 222/3, Gaikwad was quick to praise Australian batter Glenn Maxwell whose innings was unarguably the defining point of the match, particularly given the equation when he came out to bat. 

Soon after Maxwell’s arrival at no.4 in the powerplay, Australia lost their third wicket on 68 runs, still needing another 155 within 13.4 overs to keep the series alive. Maxwell countered with Australia’s joint fastest century in T20Is, off only 47 balls to register an emphatic last ball chase. 

However, the opening batter defended India’s death bowling, highlighting the difficulty of gripping a wet ball with the amount of dew in the outfield, comparing it to the recent games, where the Australian bowlers faced the similar fate. 

"Our bowlers tried executing what they had in their control, and the dew was making the ball slip, so it was tough for the bowlers as well. Even though we scored 230 in the last game, in between we felt the match will go till the last over, so with this kind of dew, these totals are bound to happen and bound to be chased.

"I don't think death bowling is a concern. In these conditions, 12 runs an over, and even 13-14 runs an over is gettable. Even in the first game, we saw how easily we managed to chase 210. The conditions are slightly tougher for them so we have to accept that and move on.”