Harbhajan Singh has blamed the poor fielding of the Indian cricket team for their loss in the first ODI. India lost the game by 66 runs chasing a target of 375 to win. The veteran Indian spinner felt that the fielders did not back their bowlers and that is the reason why Australia were able to score such a daunting total.

Meanwhile, the Indian bowlers were taken for plenty in the first game. India’s strategy to go in with five bowling options did not quite work and they missed the sixth bowler. Talking to India Today after the game, Harbhajan blamed the Indian fielders for not supporting their bowlers. Dropping catches was what cost India felt the veteran spinner.

“Things didn’t go India’s way. I would say India played some good cricket (in Sydney) but in patches. But, yeah, the fielding was a bit sloppy, lot of misfield, lot of missed catches” said Harbhajan.

“In the international arena, you would want to take each (and every catch) that comes your way but unfortunately that didn’t happen today. If the fielders are not supporting the bowler, the bowler is going to get hurt. That’s what happened today” he further added.

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Harbhajan Singh Impressed by Mohammed Shami 

Harbhajan Singh also felt that none of the Indian bowlers except Mohammed Shami left an impact on the game. The Indian bowlers went for runs throughout the innings. India’s pace spearhead bowled a spell of 1 for 73 as Yuzvendra Chahal bowled his most expensive spell ever in ODIs of 1 for 89.

“I think apart from (Mohammed) Shami everyone had an off day. This was the first game and playing in Australia you got to adjust to the bounce and the conditions. What all lengths you need to bowl. So the Indian bowling line, to start with, they bowled the initial overs a bit short with the new ball.”

Virat Kohli has lost four back to back ODI games this year as Team India skipper. Australia are 1-0 up in the three-match series. The Indian team will need to bounce back hard at the same venue on Sunday to level the series. A loss on Sunday will mean India will lose the ODI series.

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