Injuries cost us dear: Aakash Chopra

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Lucknow: Delhi captain Aakash Chopra said that nature of defeat at the hands of Uttar Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy match was very disappointing as things definitely “did not go for the team the way they should have gone.” He, however, said that injuries cost the team dear and was the main reason for the big defeat.

“We were short of resources in this match. While Mithun Manhas was suffering from food poisoning, another important batsman like Shikhar Dhawan got injured on the very first day. We could not avail of the services of spinner Chetanya Nanda for the Lucknow match as he too is injured. On the contrary, UP was in full strength and it won the vital toss. The wicket deteriorated after two days and was not giving assistance to batsmen on the third and fourth day,” Chopra explained.

The seasoned cricketer was full of praise for talented youngster Virat Kohli. “Virat played an exceptional knock today. His 145-run innings was a combination of responsibility and class but it was quite unfortunate that others did not really step up. However, I will not be too critical of the youngsters since this is a collective failure as a team. The boys could have done much better in present circumstances as well. We hope to put up a good show in the next match.” Reflecting on the UP team’s performance, an elated UP skipper Mohammad Kaif said, that whenever the UP team scores 300 or 300 plus, chances of the UP team exercising an upper hand become ripe as the team has a good fielding backup. Kaif was all praise for the UP batsmen. “This match was quite crucial for us. The 537 target set by UP was a challenging one. I am happy to see UP’s batting improving at a quick pace and the batsmen rising to the occasion.”