Cricket World Cup: Virat Kohli questions 'crazy short' boundary after England loss
- Published
Bairstow brings up half century with a six
India captain Virat Kohli questioned the playing conditions at Edgbaston after his side lost by 31 runs to England, who kept their World Cup campaign alive.
England - led from the front by Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy - hit 13 sixes in their 337-7 after winning the toss.
Kohli said: "The toss was vital, especially since the boundary was that short - the shortest you can have.
"It is bizarre on a flat pitch. It is crazy things fall in place randomly."
Bairstow hit six maximums on his way to a match-winning knock of 111, but Kohli was unhappy with the uneven proportions at the Birmingham ground.
"If batsmen are able to reverse sweep you for six on a 59-metre boundary there is not much you can do as a spinner," he said.
"One side was 82 metres. They had to be a bit smart in the lines they bowled, but you can't do much with a short boundary."
What are the rules?
The one-day international rules, from the International Cricket Council, state:
Before the toss, the umpire shall determine the boundary of the field of play, which shall be fixed for the duration of the match.
The aim is to maximise the size of the playing area at each venue.
No boundary shall be longer than 90 yards (82.29 metres).
No boundary should be shorter than 65 yards (59.43 metres) from the centre of the pitch.
We will learn from it - Kohli
Kohli scored a fifth consecutive half-century in India's chase but their sole six of the innings came in the 48th over as they never got ahead of the required run-rate for what would have been a record chase in World Cup.
The 2011 champions are still not assured of a place in the semi-finals, although victory against Bangladesh back at Edgbaston on Tuesday will be enough to see them into the last four.
"Every team has lost a game or two here and there. No-one likes to lose but we have to take it in our stride," Kohli said.
"We have to accept it. We are still playing good cricket. The mood is the same in the changing room. We will learn from it and move forward.
"I thought England were going towards 360 and we did well to pull things back. We were happy at the halfway stage.
"If we were a bit more clinical with the bat, maybe the result would have been different."
An International Cricket Council spokesperson told BBC Sport that the location of pitches are determined months in advance of a fixture.