Team India suffered a loss by eight wickets in the final T20I of the five-gam T20I series which was tied at 2-2 going into the decider game. India won the toss and decided to bat first. They posted 165/9 in 20 overs with Suryakumar Yadav top-scoring with 61 off 45, including four boundaries and three maximums. In reply, West Indies chased the target down within 18 overs, thanks to masterful batting from Brandon King (85* off 55), Nicholas Pooran (47 off 35), and Shai Hope (22* off 13). Romario Shephard dropped a stellar spell recording figures of 4/31 in four overs.
Following the game, India skipper Hardik Pandya spoke at length dissecting their latest defeat. “We lost the momentum when I came in and couldn’t capitalize on the situation. I believe we gonna challenge ourselves. We try to get better. In hindsight, it is fine. We don’t need to explain much. I know how the boys are within the group. We have enough time to figure out. Losing is good at times,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony. “If you see, we lost that period post 10 overs. Since when I came, I wasn’t able to capitalise and I took my time and could not finish,” he added.
‘Winning and losing is a part of the process…’ – Hardik Pandya
“I believe that as a group we have to challenge ourselves. All these games are the games where we have to learn. We have spoken as a group that whenever we can take the hard way we will. In hindsight, one series here or there doesn’t matter but the commitment to the goal is important. It’s a long way. We have the ODI World Cup coming up. And sometimes losing is good. You get to learn a lot. And special mention for all the boys. They showed great character. Winning and losing is a part of the process and we are going to make sure we learn from that. It is what I feel at the moment, I don’t plan much. If I see a situation, whatever my gut says I follow, ” the Indian captain further explained.
He also heaped praise on young batters Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal for their top show on the tour. “They’ve got heart. That is something that’s very important in international cricket. Every youngster coming through has belief. That’s something I see very often now. Kudos to them, they came out and took responsibility. I can’t be happier as a captain,” he concluded.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Weight loss ki baat alag hai bhai, series loss achhi baat nahi hoti ?
— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 ? (@RoflGandhi_) August 13, 2023
Boy you are not playing IPL ! ?
— Mr.Yadav (@MigTrader) August 14, 2023
Then loose captaincy. It's better for everybody.
— Ayush Jain (@aestheticayush6) August 13, 2023
Unique response
— User45 (@140off113) August 13, 2023
“Dheeth ban chuka hun” pic.twitter.com/P6AmA9I83x
— Mikku ? (@effucktivehumor) August 13, 2023
He has not learnt his lesson.
— Nirmal Jyothi (@majornirmal) August 13, 2023
He has not learnt his lesson.
— Nirmal Jyothi (@majornirmal) August 13, 2023
????? ??? ?? ??? ??
— ???? ?? (@bhiku_07) August 13, 2023
