USA’s stand-in captain Aaron Jones admitted they were 10-15 runs short of a par score against India at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Wednesday. The hosts posted 110 runs on the board after they were put into bat by Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
The USA got off to a poor start as Arshdeep Singh bagged two wickets in the opening over – removing Shayan Jahangir and Andrius Gous. Aaron Jones was also dismissed cheaply as he could only manage 11 runs before being dismissed by Hardik Pandya.
Nitish Kumar top-scored with 27 runs but America’s batters could not convert their starts into substantial scores despite getting settled at the crease. The home team kept losing wickets at regular intervals and thus managed only 110 runs with Arshdeep returning with 4-9 in his quota of four overs.
On the other hand, Saurabh Netravalkar gave a perfect start to his team as he got rid of India’s openers – Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. However, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube were able to get their team over the line as they scored 50 and 31 runs respectively. India found themselves under the cosh at 39-3 but Yadav and Dube added 72 runs for the fourth wicket.
Aaron Jones said in the post-match presentation, “10-15 runs short. If we got 130 then it would have been a tough total, that’s how it goes sometimes. The boys were very disciplined, really proud of the bowling unit. Feels good, this is what we wanted for USA cricket, enjoying it. We will recalibrate now, have a few meetings and come back strong. The wicket was a bit tricky, more suited for seam bowling. That’s why no spin. Mostly he (Monank Patel) should be fit for the last game, just got a slight niggle.”
USA bowlers were able to put the pressure on the Indian batters but Yadav and Dube made the most of their experience.
USA will next take on Ireland at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida on Friday.
