Hazlewood defends Marsh on Kohli drop catch

PTI, Oct 9, 2023, 11:02 AM IST

Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood said Mitchell Marsh dropping Virat Kohli early in the run chase did not play a significant role in the defeat against India in their World Cup opener here on Sunday.

Kohli was dropped in the eighth over off Hazlewood’s bowling after Marsh made ample ground from the mid-wicket region, even as wicketkeeper Alex Carey also ran in, leading to confusion.

”No, I don’t think so (it played a role), it was quite early obviously when that catch was dropped,” Hazlewood said at the post-match press conference.

”I didn’t think Carey could get there. I think it was Mitch’s catch and probably just Carey got quite close in the end so it might have just put Mitch off.

”Yeah, he dropped a catch, it’s one of those things that happens and everyone’s training hard and working hard off the field to hang on to them. So, yeah, we’ll continue on.” The Indian spinners stifled the Australian batters on a humid day at Chepauk as the visitors were bowled out for 199. In reply, India lost three wickets for just two runs in the first two overs with Hazlewood picking two.

If Hazlewood had held on to the catch, India would have found themselves in bigger trouble at 20 for four. Kohli was on batting 12 when he got the reprieve.

Talking about bowling to the Indians, Hazlewood said that the new ball did the trick before dew made things difficult for them.

”We still felt that new ball was doing enough, whether it was in the air or off the wicket. We knew that spin was going to be tough to play, maybe not as tough as during the day, but still enough to play it.

”And, we certainly felt in the game for quite a while until obviously the partnership grew and grew and they sort of batted us out of it obviously. And yeah, I thought we did a reasonable job early in particular trying to defend 200.

”It obviously felt like it probably spun more in the first half. Definitely, the dew came in, but I think early in our bowling innings it was doing enough and it was still dry.

”The wicket was up and down a little bit so you felt in the game as a quick in particular I think, and then I think it got a little bit better to bat on right towards the end.” Hazlewood was all praise for the Indian bowlers, especially left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who took two wickets, including that of David Warner when the batter was looking good for a big one.

”Yeah, I think he’s (Kuldeep) obviously done really well over the last 12 or 18 months. He’s always been a good player.

”We’ve found him tough to play against. Not often you come up against a left-arm leg spinner with great variations, so it’s sort of something that’s hard to practice against.

”And yeah, he’s always been a good player to play against, so I think in general the three spinners bowled really well. They’re all a little bit different obviously, but they know the conditions really well and bowled accordingly.” Australia take on South Africa next in Lucknow, a venue where they have not played before. Asked about the positives from the defeat, Hazlewood said, ”Around the country, it’s such a big country and the conditions change.

”And, I think you’ve got to just land on the ground and try and sum up what you think is the best thing to do first and what’s going to happen later on.

”It’s sort of exciting that everywhere is a little bit different I think, and hopefully, we learn from tonight,” he signed off.