'It just shows how ruthless you have to be the way India batted there'
'We lost wickets just at crucial stages, when we started to kick on the game'
Ireland captain William Porterfield drew consolation from posting the highest total against defending champions India in the cricket World Cup so far despite a crushing defeat on Tuesday.
India overhauled Ireland's 259 all out in their Pool B match at Seddon Park for the loss of only two wickets in the 37th over.
The Irish must win their final match against Pakistan in Adelaide on Sunday to clinch a place in the quarter-finals ahead of the West Indies.
"We have been confident with the bat throughout," said Porterfield, who scored 67 and shared an opening partnership of 89 with Paul Stirling (42).
"We played very well for long periods of that game today, but it just shows how ruthless you have to be the way India batted there.
"You have to kick on and score hundreds. We had a couple of 60s and 70s there. But we've chased down 300 and we've set 330 when we batted first."
Porterfield was all praise for India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
"He (Ashwin) just varied his pace very well. As I said, he commanded his bowling there when we had lost those couple of wickets. It was a bit more holding up than spinning, but there was a bit of grip there for him. So, look, I think, maybe, we could have been slightly more aggressive in that period, but I was happy with where we were at and how we had gone,” Porterfield explained.
"We lost wickets just at crucial stages, when we started to kick on the game. But, on another day, we get through that and we kick on again, and we get up to totals that are going to be very competitive in this tournament," Ireland's skipper added.
Porterfield said Ireland lost a wicket every time they picked up momentum.
"We could probably have put them under a bit of pressure but we didn't want to go too hard too soon especially after losing those couple of wickets.
"We just lost those wickets at crucial times and it slowed us down. We didn't kick on as much as we would have liked but you have to give them credit as well."
Porterfield said the team would "hone up" on Adelaide in the next couple of days.
"We will have everything behind the scenes ready."
Asked about what exactly is India's strength, he said, "I think they've got a lot of strengths. You've seen the way they're batting. They got off to a bit of a start. They've got lads coming in through the middle orders to keep the momentum going.
"They've got lads bowling late or mid 140s as well. But I think all the games might be in Australia from now on, so the system is appropriate for their spin attack. I think that they've got all the attributes to go all the way."
