Australia suffered a surprising 21-run loss to Afghanistan, jeopardising their semi-final hopes at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Dropping five catches and struggling in the powerplay, Australia were 32-3 early on and eventually all out for 127 while chasing 149. This loss means Australia may need to rely on net run-rate to advance, even if they win against India in their final Super Eight game. Afghanistan's historic win keeps their own semi-final hopes alive ahead of their match against Bangladesh. With Australia set to face India on June 24, experts discuss what are the prospects of the Men In Blue winning against the Australian Side in this new episode of Pitch Battle.
#T20WorldCup #PitchBattle #AfghanistanCricket #HistoricWin #BeatAustralia #CricketVictory #AfghanistanRising #ShockDefeat #AustraliaCricket #SemiFinalHopes #CricketUpset #FirstEverWin #StVincent #CricketThriller #SuperEight #CricketHistory
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#T20WorldCup #PitchBattle #AfghanistanCricket #HistoricWin #BeatAustralia #CricketVictory #AfghanistanRising #ShockDefeat #AustraliaCricket #SemiFinalHopes #CricketUpset #FirstEverWin #StVincent #CricketThriller #SuperEight #CricketHistory
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00:00Hello, everyone. You're watching Pitch Battle. I'm your host, Indranil. I exactly don't know
00:09what is happening in T20 World Cup. I mean, we've seen Pakistan losing to US. We've seen
00:15so many other accidents happening. But what happened this morning, Australia losing to
00:22Afghanistan, I'm actually scared. I mean, India touchwood is looking very, very good
00:28as a side. I mean, we have a strong batting, we are performing middle order. Middle order
00:34is supposed to be the backbone, right? All this while, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, they
00:40were not scoring, they're scoring. Bangladesh also, it's looking all bright and sunny. It's
00:45not too hot. It's absolutely pleasant for Team India in the West Indies and looking
00:50like they're hot favourites. Are they? I mean, we want to know from our experts. We're joined
00:56by Mr. Abhay Apte, former president of Maharashtra Cricket Association. Welcome to the show,
01:02sir. Pitch battle.
01:03Thank you, sir.
01:04It is incomplete without a pitch battle, actually. So, and we have Abhinash, the editor of MyKhil.
01:11Sir, early in the morning, what a shocker. People who got up to the news that Sunday
01:18morning you're getting up lazy, okay. Australia may have won. It's alright. We'll tackle them.
01:23We'll see how it happens. And this, the game which is going to happen tomorrow is going
01:30to be all important because if we beat Australia, Australia is in danger of qualification and
01:35we don't want to face Australia probably at all because we get really scared when Australia
01:41comes calling.
01:42Inderdeep, first of all, thank you for having me on this show, which looks to be a very
01:50impressive show. Just to start with, I would like to make a slight amendment in your introduction.
01:57You are saying some accidental verdicts, accidental match results. No, they are hard-earned, they
02:05are well-earned results. If you feel that USA has beaten Pakistan or if you feel that
02:12today, Afghanistan has won against Australia, that's a hard-earned victory and they deserve
02:18it. And that's the beauty of a competition. When the teams which are not ranked very high,
02:24they come up and they start beating the champions, I think that is where we feel that the tournament
02:29has really picked up. And early morning, in fact, I had got up, as you know, that's my
02:34habit, to read some papers and study something. And suddenly, I saw that it's a good match.
02:41Let me start watching. And then I left everything and I was there watching this match. What
02:47a beautiful match. And then, yes, tomorrow's match becomes very important. India is doing
02:53so well all along and they have shown a lot of promise. But one thing which I was talking
02:59to someone in the morning, Australians are known for playing good finals. Actually, if
03:04you see, even if they perform not that good, they are experts. And I think this is where
03:09we choked last time. So that is going to be a very, very thrilling encounter going ahead
03:15from this stage. As you correctly said, West Indians are also doing pretty well. And they
03:20are also going to show something. Both the tables, India and South Africa, are sitting
03:27at four points. Now, with Afghanistan's victory, the table is completely open. And let's hope
03:35that it becomes still more thrilling as we proceed to the remaining part of the tournament.
03:41Very well said, sir. Absolutely. And Avinash, when you come to think of it, what happened
03:47in 2023, that match where Maxwell got a 200. I would simply say, revenge well taken. I
03:56mean, what else can I say about this? Spectacular.
04:00Yes. And definitely, it was… Yeah, obviously, in that match as well, the way Afghanistan
04:06played, they, I mean, 7 down Australia, under 900. And they end up dropping a sitter and
04:16gave a reprieve to Glenn Maxwell. And what happened after that was one of the finest
04:23knocks in the world cup history that one could ever see. Because literally, he was batting
04:28on one leg. He was not feeling well. He had cramps in his leg. And the way his hand-eye
04:35coordination. And that's why Maxwell is such a dangerous batter. And soon after the match,
04:42the entire Afghani side, if you looked at them, they were completely dejected.
04:48And they were shocked that what kind of a result had come out. Because the way they
04:53were playing, they dominated the game. They were looking in cruise control to win the
04:59game against the mighty Australians. And it would have been the biggest upset of the
05:05tournament. Australia lost to Afghanistan back then. But that didn't happen. But somewhere,
05:12the fire in the belly. We are in… I mean, the World Cup is being held in the Caribbean.
05:18And a very popular documentary, the fire in Babylon, which just narrates the entire ups and
05:29downs of the early West Indies team. And before they became world champions back-to-back under
05:37Clive Lloyd's captaincy. So that fire in the Babylon, I think they've just sought inspiration
05:45there. And they've done something nobody was expecting them to. We should not call it upset.
05:51Because Afghanistan looks like a very promising side. And they have a very future as well.
05:56Because they have this habit of being the giant killers. And once this attitude just
06:03seeps into their mentality and the mindset, Afghanistan are going to be a very dangerous side.
06:12They are. I mean, how easily they looked in front of the Indians. In fact,
06:17Indians, when they are playing up this league matches, we play as if we are here to conquer.
06:26Absolutely spotless. Clinical. Koi bhi daag nahi hain aanchal mein. You know, I mean, that's what.
06:33It's amazing, the way they play this league matches. Indian team. And yesterday was no…
06:38And everything goes upside down. Topsy-turvy. We become dysfunctional when knockout matches happen.
06:49I think I've spoken about it earlier also. We get allergies on our skin. Hopefully, this time,
06:56it's going to be different. Because one last time, we've seen Virat and… Probably, Virat Kuli and
07:04Rohit Sharma playing together. But your thoughts on India? You know, opposition like Afghanistan.
07:11We sort of eased them out so easily. I mean, this is a great thing about Indian team. They've
07:16achieved. You know, 20 years ago, it was not like that. If we would play the semi-final, they would
07:20say, oh, great effort. Well done, my boys. But now, things have moved on. We have such a… What
07:29do you call it? It's not only the money part. Talent-wise also. This has become the sort of
07:35maker of world cricket. The Indian soil. And when you see plenty of talents coming out like that…
07:42And we have so many waiting in the wings. I mean, Jaiswal is not there. Iqbal is not there.
07:52Seniors who have got into that position, they don't want to quit. They want to continue.
07:57That's the only prominent way to tell the world you are alive and kicking. Otherwise,
08:03who watches one-day cricket? Who would watch a test cricket? But you tell me, sir. I mean,
08:09this amazing journey Indian team undertakes every time we play a tournament. It's actually flawless.
08:19See, Indranil, if you look at the performance, even current performance,
08:25as you know, I am not a great cricketer. Or I am not the authority to talk about the
08:31cricketing skills. But all of us follow the game pretty well. And we also look at it from
08:36administrative point of view. See, if you look at the way in which our team is playing,
08:42it is definitely a champion team. It is only a matter of that bit of luck that you need to remove
08:49the distance between champions and runners-up or something like that. Secondly, what is more
08:55impressive is that this unending batting lineup, like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. All of them are
09:03batsmen. I mean, somebody will be, you know, it is like that that sometimes the opponents will feel,
09:13oh, so I have taken these four batsmen. There are eight more. There are four more. So,
09:19this is one very good thing that this team has got a very, very deep batting lineup.
09:24And what is most remarkable is that it's okay that one person scores a century or two of them score
09:3280 and then we reach 200. But when everybody is contributing 30, 35, 40, 30, 35, 40 and we go
09:40close to 200, that is the beauty. That is truly a teamwork, I would say, both in bowling as well
09:46as in batting. And this looks to be the best description of this team that it's truly a team
09:53that is playing. All are together. Look at the brotherly relationship between them. Look at the
10:00friendship that you can see even from the box. The way in which they are interacting with each
10:04other. The type of comfort that they have. Juniors, seniors, all of them are talking from different
10:11regions, different languages. This is the beauty of our culture. And it is really impressive and
10:17very, very heartwarming. Absolutely. And who would forget those scenes where you can put your hand
10:24on your coach's shoulder. And a coach of Rahul Ravid's stature, which is amazing, shows how
10:31closely knit this team is. How they are sort of soaking in each other's success and failure.
10:37And our drawback has been over the years, Avinash, has been that we never performed as
10:46Apte Sir is saying. We never performed. Everyone doesn't contribute in big matches, probably.
10:52And we do well. We do so well. Everyone contributes. And then the knockout matches,
10:58only two, three performers are there, are seen. I mean, it's not individual. You can blame whatever
11:04has happened in the last 11 years. Your thoughts are how this team is going to be shaping up.
11:10You think this is, I mean, especially you talk about this special character,
11:14Hardik Pandya will come to that. But as a team, are you, as a journalist,
11:20getting that confidence that, yes, they have it in them to go all the way?
11:26Definitely, they have it in them. They have been showing it for glimpses in the last
11:30two matches against Pakistan or the US side. We saw the bowlers doing the bulk of the job.
11:37But now that the batters are also joining, coming to the party and understanding what is their
11:45role, how they should be approaching. The intent was pretty clear last night against
11:54we saw the way Rohit played the first ball. He was not looking to just settle down and then
12:02take charge and go on the offensive. And that is the Rohit Sharma we all want to see. Because
12:09just go six, seven months back, eight months back in the ODI World Cup, what Rohit was doing
12:18was phenomenal. Giving a perfect start to the Indian team. And in the power plays,
12:23he was taking on the bowlers. He was not a bowler on his reputation. He was building his own
12:33that aggressive intent was there to see for everyone. And that is how team India progressed
12:40into the finals. And they were in the game as long as Rohit was there, the way he was batting.
12:47That approach has to be there. And we saw that approach, that intent lacking in the first few
12:54games. Yes, the pitch was slightly different. But more than the pitch, it's something on the mental
13:02side of the Indian team, which was lacking. They were not mentally prepared to take on the
13:07opposition. But here, I think they have understood the fact at the business end of the tournament.
13:15And it is time for us to go all out, full fire cylinders should be fired. Because if there is
13:22any chink in the armour, the opposition will look to exploit us. And the way they combined,
13:31both Rohit and Kohli, they just combined and started attacking the Bangladeshi bowlers,
13:38they hit with spinners. And it was quite on the expected lines. Because they were thinking that,
13:43okay, we will get their wickets using our front-line spinners and then we will run
13:50through their middle-order. Although, we have heard the commentators and experts saying that
13:55very negative call from the West Indies, Bangladeshi team to just bowl for the pitch,
14:03where you can score runs and put them under the pump, which they did. And India being India,
14:10they already knew that the bowling has always been their strength so far in the tournament.
14:15It is batting which has to click. And eventually, it was hard to see everybody contributing to the
14:25cause. There was not just one individual player who was performing, like we have seen in the past.
14:32If you talk about 2022 World Cup, 2016 World Cup, it was all one-man or two-man show,
14:40which doesn't look like this year.
14:46Absolutely. And a couple of players like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya. To start with,
14:53Rishabh Pant, I mean, we had a discussion on Rishabh Pant yesterday in detail. But I will
15:00start with Hardik Pandya. After his serve, this man was booed, this man was crushed,
15:07he was insulted. In fact, the biggest thing that happened in his life, he got the captaincy of one
15:13of the biggest, most popular franchise in IPL, Mumbai Indians. Instead of celebrating and enjoying
15:21his game, he had to face so much of music, which was very discordant. It was not a soothing thing
15:31for him. It happened. And something happens to him, people are… I mean, I wrote about it,
15:38and Avinash can vouch for it, that moment that he played that practice game against Bangladesh,
15:44where he scored 40-odd runs, took a couple of wickets, if I am not mistaken. He was right on
15:50the money. And I think something happens to him after he sees the national flag,
15:55really, truly a champion. And the fact that Rohit Sharma was trying to push him out of vice-captaincy
16:02and make Suryakumar vice-captain of the team, and this election happened, thanks to the guys
16:07who backed Hardik, they would be really laughing, sitting back on a Sunday and seeing the way people
16:12are writing good stuff about him. This is what it is. You can't have a knee-jerk reaction.
16:20You probably need to learn that a player is never going to underperform deliberately.
16:29Form is temporary, class is permanent. And once you are a match-winner, once you are a proven player,
16:37you are always a proven player.
16:39Yeah. Indranil, let me tell you that let's keep all the
16:45guesses or rumors aside, who wanted to happen, what, etc. Those who want to study psychology,
16:54this is a classic case study for them. See, the mood in which he was, literally,
17:04people used to bow him, people used to hate him, they used to shout at him, he kept his cool.
17:10He was not performing, his team was not performing in IPL, but still,
17:14barring a few incidences, he was very cool. Then he came here, now also he is cool. A player with
17:22this much of caliber is bound to perform. He has started performing, he is performing really well
17:27for the team. And he has given an answer through his performance. This is what I think many other
17:34players who are seen fighting on the streets today, in the World Cup also, we have seen one
17:39incidence. All of them, this is going to be a classic case study. For those who want to study
17:45psychology, that how somebody can keep his composure, there will be good times, there will be
17:51bad times, there will be some times when people will shout at you, they will say that give him
17:58removal and all that. From there, just maintaining his composure and also equal credit goes to the
18:04selection committee that they have shown confidence. And I have also appointed him as the
18:09vice-captain, telling them what is going to be the hierarchy of the Indian team.
18:14So, I think we have got an example of a Pakistani player entering into a street fight and we don't
18:22know the details of it. But as against this, the way in which this man has kept his cool,
18:27and this is not the first incidence, I would say through his career, there will be three major.
18:33First time when I have seen it from a close quarters, when he and K Rahul were suspended for
18:39two years for their interview on a television show. So, still he kept quiet, he has come back.
18:46Then major injuries, surgeries, he kept quiet, he got rehab done, came back with flying colours.
18:54Now, this third change of IPL franchisee, captainship and disliked by the fans, he kept
19:03quiet and now he has come back. So, I think this is the journey for a player and this is what we
19:08can take it as a case study for the budding cricketers to understand there can be a situation
19:15where you don't get what you want. There can be a situation where you really commit a mistake.
19:20But still, you have to keep quiet and wait for the right opportunity. If you have the merit,
19:25that merit will speak. You don't have to speak.
19:29Absolutely. I remember seeing him during the Delhi-Mumbai match at Filustra-Kotla and
19:37he always kept that, what we call in that Hindi word, Tadi.
19:43Tadi kabhi kam nahi hona chahiye, Avinash. I mean, when you Tadi, I mean,
19:48Virender Sehwag and I often spoke about it. If you are good at work, you better have an attitude.
19:53Attitude to do well, not attitude to show off that I am really special and you have to treat me
19:59specially. Not like that kind of an attitude. It's an attitude of being good at work, like a good
20:06student. So, Hardik Pandya had that Tadi always. He had that attitude. Okay, I am going to do what
20:12I have to do. Only issue over the years has been his fitness. When he plays, India is not playing
20:20with 11 players. They are playing with 12 players. I have often said that. Last World Cup we saw,
20:25the moment he went out, I remember talking to a lot of people, I said India would be out of
20:30equations. So, Hardik Pandya had so much of balance. And it's showing already. Avinash.
20:38Yes, I was at the MCA Stadium in Pune when he got an injury. I had to just walk out
20:45of that Bangladesh match. And actually, it was a big setback for the Indian team because
20:52the balance of the team was completely lost. You rightly mentioned because he is not just a good
21:00batter. He is an equally good bowler and a good fielder as well. Also, the added responsibility
21:08of being the vice-captain of the side. There was always a communication we saw on the field.
21:15And he is always aggressive. He always keeps the team pumped up, charged up, never lets the morale
21:22of the teammates down as long as the match is not lost. And because of the fact that he has had
21:31so much of hardships coming to this stage, he has risen through the ranks. It's not just everything
21:37has not been up to him on a silver platter. He had to fight hard for everything that he has
21:44got. And right from the start, on the grass-root levels,
21:50and Hardik Pandya has been one of the best examples of just have the faith, keep doing
21:57the good work that you do. Just keep excelling in what good you are at. And eventually, everything
22:04will fall into place. And it's just heartening to see Hardik Pandya leading the way he is.
22:14Obviously, there were a lot of talks about him in this IPL season. But every single person
22:21who has criticized him seems to have forgotten that he is the same person who led Gujarat
22:26Titans to two back-to-back IPL finals, ended up winning one trophy and almost had won the other
22:40one, the second consecutive title for them. Had it not been that two balls hit by Ravindra Jadeja.
22:49So definitely, Hardik Pandya has had a career of ups and downs. But he has never let his guard down
22:59as far as cricket is concerned. Yes, we see him. At times, we have seen him getting emotional.
23:09And he was emotionally down. We saw that video from the Mumbai Indians' dugout where everybody
23:14was away. He was sitting with his former MI teammate, Ambati Raidu. And Ambati Raidu was
23:23some wise words in his brain, in his mind, so that he would not.
23:27We have seen him, even just for the IPL, to the Caribbean. And he is showing the flamboyance
23:42that we have seen in the Caribbean players back in the days. He is not intimidated by the opposition.
23:52He is not down. He never feels low on confidence. And his attitude has always been to just
24:01perform and answer with the bat and ball, not with words.
24:09So true. And we are showing it. Showing the way he has played so far in the tournament.
24:15And when you play, what you do for India is going to be really taken into consideration.
24:19Look at the way Rishabh Pant is also batting. I can call him the sitter of
24:27Bumrah last evening. But that's part of the game. But it didn't hurt India that much. Because
24:34India is really on a roll. The emergence of Rishabh Pant, the only cricketer who is going
24:40to be going all the way. We have spoken at length about him. But sir, I want to know your reaction
24:45to Rishabh Pant, the way he has come back. What a dramatic comeback we are seeing from a man.
24:51We have seen him before also. You have seen the way he fought his disease and came back strong.
24:57And here we are, a second cricketer. Young at heart. Young. Very young, actually.
25:03He is 24, coming and making such a great impression. And the intent he is showing.
25:09Every match, he is looking better and better. I mean, your thoughts, Abhishek, on Rishabh Pant?
25:15Yes, yes. If the Pandya case was case study number one, then this is going to be case study
25:241A. Because look at the place where he was, not more than 18 months ago.
25:36A serious accident. Nobody thought that he will survive. Nobody thought that he is going to come
25:41back on the ground. From there, he underwent lot many surgeries. Then he got back to fitness.
25:48Nobody thought that he will be match fit. He still did that. Nobody expected him to
25:54play for the IPL. This IPL, he played. He showed his class. He has been as good as he was in the
26:01past. In fact, better than what he was in the past. So, for those youngsters or those kids
26:08who are looking at cricketers, I think rather than how they dress, how they cut their hair,
26:14they should look at this, that what a fighting spirit he has got. And one more point that I
26:20wanted to tell you. Sorry, don't get disturbed with the air point, Indranil. It was a very general
26:25comment. So, what I was trying to suggest is, look at his spirit. Let there be any situation,
26:37there will be 3 down, 4 down, 1 down, whatever it is. He will keep his game as it is. He will
26:43not get bogged down. And this is what we have seen in entire batting lineup yesterday. Because
26:50though the wickets were falling, the runs were coming. And the run rate was never on decline.
26:56So, this is New India. This is the example.
27:00Avinash, I want to know from you. This man called Jaswit Bumrah, he is amazingly consistent. I mean,
27:11one or two matches, we have seen bowlers going for runs. He is just getting…
27:16I mean, best we have seen of Bumrah in recent times. Your thoughts?
27:22I think Caribbean brings something unique from Bumrah. Remember the last time,
27:29when the first time he toured, he had a hat-picking test match. Everybody was going gaga
27:35the way he was bowling. And all of them were getting wrapped up in a course of 3 days or 2
27:43days on an occasion. And yes, Jaswit Bumrah seems to just savour and relish the Caribbean air and
27:55the venues. So, whatever venue he goes. And now that he's also added… I mean, he was equally
28:05demolishing against on the US main soil. So, definitely, we are seeing the best version of
28:12Bumrah in T20. I mean, there was a little blip that at a time he was not getting those. And
28:19he has always been his economical best. But in fact, he is also getting those wickets.
28:27And also, I think, Radha, somewhere, the hunger to look coveted and elusive ICC trophy.
28:35Like, we were talking yesterday as well. As I mentioned, it's been more than 8 years since his
28:43entry into international cricket. And he's been running that Indian jersey for the last
28:496 years, 8 years. But he, like others, hasn't been able to win a trophy,
28:57the international trophy or the ICC trophy, if you talk about. There was the ICC champions
29:02trophy in the 2017 that we lost. The 2016 T20 World Cup, where he was a rookie bowler.
29:09And was an X-Factor in that tournament and was bowling as well in 2016 at home. And then,
29:19we saw what happened in 2019, 2021, 22 and 23. There were disappointments. But this time,
29:29he's taken it personal. And he's ensuring that the last gasp effort that India always tends to just
29:38taper off their form, it shouldn't happen. And I was literally disappointed that he just
29:45got hit for a boundary on the last ball of his spell. Had it not been, he would again have
29:52conceded less than 10, once again, in a match. Absolutely magical spell he's delivering.
30:00Abhishek, if you can complete your thought about,
30:07you were talking about Rishabh Pant, right? I mean, the way he started off.
30:14Thank you, Indranil. There was some disconnection. But I had already almost completed and I again
30:20want to say that I look at it from the character point of view. That look at these characters,
30:28how strong they are, what is their determination. We only see the flamboyance, we only see the
30:34glamour, we only see the money involved. But it is not that. What you really need to see is the
30:40way in which they come back, the way in which they fight. See, it's not an easy job to work
30:47that hard and come back when the competition is so intense. So, I think that from that perspective,
30:55I think you were coming to the third example also. I would definitely rate Pant as one of
31:00the outstanding examples that we have seen. That after such a serious accident, he has come back.
31:07It was not a sporting injury. It was a car accident and he has come back from that.
31:13Absolutely. And you know, Avinash, before we wrap up the show, even
31:18coming back to form is also good news. You got three wickets. Wickets is all that matters for
31:22a bowler. If you get wickets, your confidence level just goes to, I mean, just climbs so hard.
31:31I mean, you're right there then. Awara on Kuldeep Yadav, he was not playing regularly and the way
31:38he just got into the mix so quickly. This is amazing. I think credit also should go to the
31:45team management for keeping things pretty clear that yes, this is the reason we are not playing
31:52you in the U.S. Because the pitches are more pacer-friendly. So, we are going with an extra
31:58pacer. But the moment we land in the Caribbean, where the pitches are going to be on the slower
32:04side and with the time progressing and most of the matches are happening in the daytime,
32:10we believe in you that you are going to be our frontline spinners going forward.
32:15So, that also speaks volume. And the moment he was brought into the playing XI, he started
32:21delivering. It's very heartening to see. And it is because he also has that hunger to prove
32:27himself. Because he also understands that if you have a day when the pitches are more batter-friendly
32:37or when India will have to weigh in more on batters, he is definitely going to lose his
32:45spot to an Akshar or a Ravindra Jadeja. And he will have to sit on the bench and wait for his
32:52opportunity. But the moment he has been brought into the playing XI, he is not letting those
32:57opportunities slip away from his hands and encashing those opportunities. And that's the
33:04best thing about Kuldeep Yadav. We have seen him crying on the pitch when he was hit hard.
33:15During the IPL match for KKR and then eventually he was relieved by the franchise because he was
33:22not living up to the expectations. And here, the bond between Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav also
33:29to have worked in Kuldeep Yadav. He has someone behind the stumps. It's not MS Dhoni,
33:35the almighty ever-present, everything he understands so minutely. But we have seen
33:43Rishabh Pant also taking something out of MS Dhoni's book that he is also maturing to be a
33:53fine wicket-keeper. He is very chirpy. He always just tells the wicket-keeper or constantly he is
34:05in conversation with the bowlers that, okay, you need to do that. You need to do this. Let him
34:12attack you. Let him go for you. He'll definitely throw his wicket away. So, all those things are
34:19also in a way happening with Kuldeep Yadav because he has faith that the person behind the wickets
34:26has true faith in him and will back him to the hilt. And something of the same sort has also
34:35been communicated by Rohit Sharma. Yesterday, we saw what Rohit Sharma was doing. The stump
34:40Mike Cotter, Rohit Sharma speaking, to just let the batter play. I mean, just don't be attacking.
34:47Just lay out your plan the way you have tricked the other batter who just walked away. Let him
34:55also go for those drives or those expansive shots and he will also gift his wicket to you.
35:01So, that also in a way tells that the captain is also showing a lot of faith in the bowler.
35:08And that is one of the big reasons for Kuldeep Yadav doing the way he is doing.
35:15Absolutely. Very well said, I have to say. But Aftisa, your closing comments?
35:21Yeah, yeah. The closing comments are in continuation with what Avinash has said.
35:27That if you now want to look at the mindset of the Indian team, it is very clear like what
35:34is making all the fans entertained today.
35:44True. I mean, we are really on cloud nine, seeing the way we are playing. It's a great,
35:50great effort. Team India is showing in the D phase. Matches, Super Red is on. We will be
35:56facing Australia very soon. Great going and I hope it just stops after that win.
36:02Keeping our fingers crossed. Thanks a lot, Abhay, Aftisa and Avinash for coming and sharing
36:08your thoughts on Pitch Battle. Keep enjoying cricket and be good to yourself. Thanks for watching.
36:13Thanks. Thank you.