Once the contest was over, both teams agreed on one thing: batting second was easier, with the dew helping the ball come on to the bat nicely more than it did during the first innings when India batted.
In the post-match interview to the host broadcaster, India captain Virat Kohli said, “We thought six bowling options will be good enough, especially with the pitch being slow and Kedar an option. But it played differently under lights. I think the ball wasn’t holding enough for the fast bowlers.”
Hetmyer concurred. “For me, there wasn’t much slowness. There was dew as well, which is always a factor batting second in India. The ball didn’t stop as much, it just stuck in the pitch a little bit when the seamers bowled cutters.”
Keeping it simple
About his partnership with Shai Hope and their different approach, Hetmyer said, “We keep it simple. We know each other’s games and most of the time I am the aggressor while he sticks around.
“He puts away the boundary ball and makes sure I am on strike as much as possible. That makes it easy.”
Rishabh Pant, who finally managed to find form with the bat, said he was pleased with his knock and be among the runs.
“When Iyer and I got together, we wanted to get a partnership going till the 40th over as we had lost three early wickets. We knew if we were able to do that, we would be able to capitalise on that,” said Pant.
While appreciating the crowd support he received, the 22-year-old said: “It (crowd support) is very important. I was looking to improve every day but I was not getting there.”
