Hardik Pandya led team India suffered two consecutive defeats to West Indies in a 5-match T20I series contest. This T20I series has not been going well so far for both the Indian team and their captain Hardik Pandya.
After winning the toss, Hardik Pandya chose to bat first. Unfortunately, Team India’s batters got off to a rough start, losing both Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav within the powerplay. The rest of the batting lineup also struggled to meet the fans’ expectations.
During the chase of the target of 152 runs, West Indies faced a disastrous beginning to their innings as they lost Brandon King and Johnson Charles in the very first over, all thanks to Hardik Pandya’s excellent bowling. Kyle Mayers also departed during the powerplay.
However, Nicholas Pooran played a crucial role in keeping the game within reach for the West Indies. He batted with caution initially but shifted gears in the final over of the powerplay, smashing his IPL teammate Ravi Bishnoi for 18 runs.
Nicolas Pooran powered the West Indies chase with 67 runs in 40 balls smashing 6 fours and 4 sixes.
Speaking after the game, Hardik Pandya expressed his disappointment over the batting performance of the team. He said:
“If am being honest that was not a pleasing batting performance, we could have batted better. 160+ or 170 would have been a good total. The way he has been batting, becomes very difficult to rotate spinners. 2/2 and the way he batted, took the game quite into their hands.” Hardik said in the post-match presentation.
Additionally, Hardik Pandya shared his thoughts on Team India’s current lineup, emphasizing the importance of having faith in their top 7 batters to deliver consistently throughout the series. He expressed his belief that the bowlers have a significant role to play in guiding the team to victory. Hardik also commended Tilak Varma for his impressive and impactful performance with the bat.
“With the current combination we have we will have to trust out top 7 batters to come good and hope the bowlers win you games. We have to find ways to make sure we have the right balance but at the same time batters need to take more responsibility. Left-hander coming at 4 gives us variety. It doesn’t feel like it’s his second international game.” Hardik Pandya concluded.
