Indian batter Hanuma Vihari has put his weight behind Abhishek Sharma after the hosts suffered a 24-run loss in the fourth T20I against the West Indies. Sharma, who is known to hit the ground running, could not bat at the top of his game as he meandered to 29 runs off 24 balls when the required run rate was more than 12 from the get-go.
Sanju Samson dominated the strike as Abhishek faced a handful of balls in the Powerplay overs. But the left-hander failed to find his timing after the field restrictions were lifted.
“Many people will say we lost the match because of Abhishek Sharma. But I will not put it that way. He hardly faced any balls in the powerplay. So when you don’t get the rhythm, it’s hard for Abhishek to score boundaries in the middle overs without playing enough balls in the powerplay. It is not easy at all. For an opener, when you’re used to playing in the powerplay, the rhythm and momentum should come in the powerplay. Then you continue in the middle overs, and that is the pattern. He struggled a bit in the middle overs, which is understandable. So I feel there’s nothing to blame him for,” Hanuma Vihari said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Vihari said India was in the contest and praised Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy for adding a crucial alliance. Varma scored 43 runs off 25 balls, whereas Reddy smashed 41 runs off 20 balls.
He said, “I feel India were always in the game. The firepower was there. Even when Tilak and Nitish were batting, you backed them to get 48 off the last three overs. That is the talent they have. Both players made a good contribution and showed what they can do. Yes, they have to finish games, but they will eventually learn. But otherwise, 248 is always a tough task. It was 20 runs above par on that pitch.”
The 33-year-old added the West Indies bowlers were smart as they varied their pace, whereas the Indian bowlers didn’t do it enough.
“West Indies bowlers changed the pace really well. Indian bowlers didn’t bowl many slower ones. But the West Indies bowlers changed it well, they bowled good yorkers, and they executed the plans well. They bowled outside the off stump to Shreyas, there was a deep mid-wicket for Ishan Kishan. Motie got back-to-back breakthroughs. It all worked out for them,” Hanuma Vihari said.
India and the West Indies will play the fifth and final match of the series at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Saturday.
