Hazlewood defends Marsh; Indian spinners were on top: Smith

Chennai: Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood said Mitchell Marsh dropping Virat Kohli early in the run chase did not play a significant role in the defeat against India in their World Cup opener. Kohli was dropped in the eighth over off Hazlewood's bowling after Marsh made ample ground from the mid-wicket region, even as wicketkeeper Alex Carey also ran in, leading to confusion . "No, I don't think so (it played a role), it was quite early obviously when that catch was dropped," Hazlewood said . "I didn't think Carey could get there. I think it was Mitch's catch and probably just Carey got quite close in the end so it might have just put Mitch off. "Yeah, he dropped a catch, it's one of those things that happens and everyone's training hard and working hard off the field to hang on to them. So, yeah, we'll continue on."

Steve Smith admitted that the Australian batters failed to get on top of the Indian spinners on a tacky Chepauk surface. Australia were sitting pretty at 110 for two before left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/38) triggered a collapse with his triple blows in the middle overs.

"All their spinners bowled really nicely. Obviously, they had the wicket to suit as well," Smith said in the mixed zone. "It was challenging against spin since they are all very quality spinners. They really worked well together, and we struggled to get on top of them."