Ravichandran Ashwin played just one game during the entire ODI World Cup 2023.© YouTube
Veteran India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed how a chat with Australia chief selector George Bailey left him ‘fuming’ during the ODI World Cup last week. Australia defeated India by six wickets to clinch a record-extending sixth ODI World Cup title. After restricting India to a below-par total of 240, Australia chased down the total, riding on Travis Head‘s ton. Ashwin said he asked Bailey the reason behind Australia’s decision to bowl first, and how his explanation left him “flabbergasted”.
“Australia totally deceived me personally, I was checking whether the pitch is disintegrating at mid-innings and I met George Bailey. I asked him why didn’t you guys bat first like you always do – he answered back, ‘we have played IPL & Bilateral series here a lot – red soil disintegrates but not black soil & it gets better under lights – no impact on dew on red soil but black soil has good turn in afternoon & then it will be a concrete in night.’ I was flabbergasted after that,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Four days after Australia’s win over India, both teams meet once again on Thursday, but in a different format.
India and Australia are scheduled to play a five-match T20I series, starting with the first game later on Thursday.
Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the series, while Matthew Wade was named Australia’s captain.
Both teams are likely to play a second-string side, with senior pros rested for the series.
The first T20I will be played at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
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