Bowlers disappointed when it mattered the most, says Harbhajan 

FOLLOWING INDIA’s defeat against Pakistan in the finals of Champions Trophy 2017, India offie Harbhajan Singh stated that the bowlers delivered a disappointing performance when it mattered the most.

Speaking about the finals, the ‘turbanator’ reckoned that early lifeline to Fakhar Zaman was a crucial point, where the match turned in Pakistan’s favour. Apart from unimpressive bowling, Bhajji mentioned that Virat Kohli’s men also displayed uncharacteristic fielding.

“Our bowlers disappointed when it mattered the most. We didn't start too well to begin with. The crucial point of the final came extremely early. It was the no-ball that Jasprit Bumrah bowled that saw Fakhar Zaman being caught behind by MS Dhoni. The look on Kohli's face said everything. Zaman was batting on three at that time. Post that, he didn't need another chance. Bumrah’s no-ball incident proved to be costly as Zaman took the game away from India. He attacked the spinners rather than taking singles. The spinners didn't help by giving away too many runs, plus they didn't take any wickets. Apart from that, our fielding wasn't up to the mark as seen in previous matches.”

Harbhajan said that the game was done and dusted after India lost three wickets at 33. 

“Seeing the scorecard, India had enough reason to worry chasing down 338. It was a daunting total to chase, but we knew our hopes rested on our top three batsmen who had to give us a near-perfect start. Things took a turn for the worse by the ninth over as Mohammad Amir sent Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli back to the pavilion. The game was done and dusted there.”

Meanwhile, the Indian team is set to travel to the Caribbean for five ODIs and a T20, starting June 23. And, the 36-year-old feels that it is going to be an easy assignment for the men in blue as the opposition recently struggled against 10th ranked Afghanistan team.

“All eyes now turn to India’s tour of the West Indies at the end of this month. It won't be much of a challenge for us as Afghanistan just went there and gave it a tough time. The series should serve as a great learning experience for the youngsters to stand up and be counted. It will be a good tour when the big boys will cool their batteries and new kids on the block show their mettle.”

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