Australia’s seven-wicket win in a rain-truncated opening ODI here on Sunday was indeed set up by taking wickets upfront but spinner Matthew Kuhnemann backed India to bounce back strongly after a heavy loss in the first game of the tour.
India were blown away as they could manage only 136 for nine in the first half which was marred by repeated rain interruptions here but it was the disappointing return of Rohit Sharma (8) and Virat Kohli (0) at the start of the game which set the tone in Australia’s favour.
The Optus Stadium here saw Indian fans turning up in large numbers in support of the visiting side which had Rohit and Kohli playing their first international match since March this year, but their failures with the bat underlined an ordinary outing for India.
When asked if it felt like an away game and that Australia were able to silence the crowd, Kuhnemann told the media after the game, “Yeah, especially when you come up against a team like this when all their batters are world-class and legends of the game and so, especially to get wickets upfront, (it) makes a massive difference.” Kuhnemann, however, backed India to come back strongly after the huge defeat in the series opener.
“I think they’ll come back real strong. Like I said, they’re a world-class team and it’s going to be a great series, With the one-dayers and the T20Is, it’s going to be awesome,” he said.
Kuhnemann, who made his mark with a tidy four-over spell in which he returned 2/26 accounting for Axar Patel (31) and Washington Sundar (10), credited his experience in T20 format for the performance.
“When we kept coming on and off, the one stage I didn’t think I was going to bowl. Even bowling at the end there, I sort of knew it was going to be a tough ask,” he said.
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“But I’ve sort of been around this group now for a little while and especially the T20 side of things. I spent a lot of time the last six months on that sort of role in T20 bowling so it came handy today,” Kuhnemann added.
The left-arm spinner also credited his time spent with Australia limited-overs’ spinner Adam Zampa and assistant coach Daniel Vettori.
“Whenever you get a chance to travel as a team, it’s amazing. The success I’ve had over for a long time now is awesome. Whenever we get an opportunity to sort of play, you’ve got to jump at the opportunity. I absolutely love playing with this team and it was pretty special to get a win here,” he said.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with Zamps (Adam Zampa) for the last three months especially and working with Vettori. And, yeah, T20 career, even though it’s a one-day game, you’ve got to sort of be able to bowl from any over from one to 20, especially as a finger spinner.
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“Always sort of learning off them boys and especially Zamps just being an excellent bowler for this team for a long time now,” he added.
Kuhnemann said the repeated rain interruptions that forced the players off the field for quite a few times during the first innings had an impact on the Australian fast bowlers.
“It was probably a bit more frustrating for the big quicks because they were in a good rhythm and bowling fast and getting the ball to nip and swing and everything,” he said.
“The way they bowled upfront was beautiful and then to come back out after a couple of rain breaks was really impressive,” Kuhnemann added.
