India were the better side tonight: Phillip Hughes

It was the third time that Australia had set India a 360-run target, and this time each of their top five batsmen scored half-centuries, setting an ODI record in itself. One of the batsmen, who were instrumental in posting the 359 runs on the board, was opener Phillip Hughes. The 24-year-old anchored the innings with a 103-ball 83. He partnered with Aaron Finch once again to lay a good platform. And after the 74-run opening stand he was involved in a 108-run partnership with Shane Watson for the second wicket, helping the team to what seemed like a formidable total at the time.

While speaking to bcci.tv about his batting, Hughes lauded Finch and Watson for their roles. He also credited the Indian batsmen for their batting display while chasing down the target to register a nine-wicket win with 39 balls to spare.

Excerpts from his interview:

What do you make of today’s match?

I think that we had batted well to get that total on the board, but you have to give India credit for the way they batted tonight. They were really outstanding.

How easy or difficult was it to bat out there?

There were a lot of runs scored the whole night. It was a very good batting wicket and we got runs on the board, but the way they came out and batted, they upped the ante from ball one, and full credit to them. Then Virat Kohli came out and played an unbelievable innings. He upped the ante a little bit more. You have to give credit where credit is due and India were the better side tonight.

What do you make of the Indian bowling attack?

They are a very good team, especially in these conditions. But I felt that we had a fair amount of runs. But the bottom line is we didn’t get enough really and we just have to give credit the way India batted.

Yourself and Aaron Finch have given Australia solid starts; how do both of you define your roles when you go out to bat?

Aaron again played well today. We really enjoy batting together. In the first two games we have put on a couple of decent partnerships. We talk about the fact that we really want to set the platform up front for the guys that come in the middle order and the lower order. So that’s something we talked about and it was going quite nicely. But it would have been nice to get a few more runs.

How do you decide which one of you will go after the bowling and which one will anchor the innings?

It depends. It is usually Aaron who is taking it to them (taking the attack to the bowlers); it usually is his role. But in the first game I did that early on, and today Aaron and also Watson really gave me that support. I just had to sort of anchor the innings through. The way those two played was nice.

What have you done or worked on to adapt to the shorter formats of the game?

It’s about aggression really in the one-day format. I am just grateful to be playing for the country. It is something that I always want to do.

The shorter format is really fun, and the crowd here tonight and the spectators watching it on television like it. We are going in to Game 3 and hopefully we get a win.

You have played a lot with Shane Watson. So is there any advice from him that has helped?

He has been very good. Watto really gives you support when needed. He has huge experience in these conditions, so he is really good to talk to.

source: bcci.tv