PERTH: The cold weather may have contributed to Virat Kohli squandering a clear chance and captain Rohit Sharma missing an underarm direct smash at stumps on the striker's end in India's close five-wicket loss to South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup Super-12 match on Sunday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, an India seamer, acknowledged that the weather conditions were "extremely tough," but he refrained from admitting that they contributed to the loss.
"The chilly conditions were really challenging. But to be honest, we never brought it up. We were aware that we would have to adapt to those circumstances. We also cannot alter those circumstances. We must endure these circumstances, the cold, or the upcoming games. So, the situation is the same in Melbourne. However, we never discussed the fact that it might be cold or any other weather-related issues "Bhuvneshwar remarked.
India had a few chances to get back on the field as Aiden Markram and David Miller changed gears in the second half of chasing 134. However, the 2007 T20 World Champions missed out on opportunities due to costly mistakes on the field.
In the 12th over, a juggling Virat Kohli lost a straightforward catch at deep mid-wicket, giving Markram a large slice of luck at 35. Markram received another reprieve in the following over when Miller called for a narrow single after captain Rohit Sharma missed an underarm direct smash at the striker's end of the stumps.
Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian team's batting hero, missed the stumps at the striker's end when Miller called for a quick single in between the two opportunities that India missed. After a few more overs, Markram reached his fifty in 37 balls and enjoyed a 76-run partnership with Miller off 60 balls when Miller's pull sailed through two leg-side fielders in the deep.
Bhuvneshwar claimed the lost catches cost the team two complete points when asked if there was a specific point in the second innings when he thought the momentum was changing away from India after such a fantastic start with the ball, where South Africa were reduced to 24/3 in 5.3 overs.
"Not the exact moment, but I believe the missed or dropped receptions are where the problem lies (where India lost the momentum). But we were aware that things might have turned out differently if we had taken those chances. But I don't believe there was a certain time when we could declare that things turned in their favour "Bhuvneshwar said.
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