West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard believes it could have been more competitive had they scored 20 runs more in the first T20I against India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday.
The Windies posted a respectable score of 157 runs after Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first.
In the middle overs from 6-15, West Indies could only score 46 runs and they also lost four wickets. Thus, they could not get going in the middle overs as Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal bowled in the right areas. In fact, West Indies scored 61 runs in the final five overs after Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran scored 24 and 61 runs respectively.
On the other hand, India also struggled to get going in the middle overs as they lost four wickets and were in a spot of bother in the fag end of the run-chase. Thus, it could have been a more competitive match had West Indies scored around 180 runs.
Kieron Pollard said in the post-match presentation, “Between overs 6-15 we only scored 46 in 9 overs and if we had 18-20 more runs during that phase it would have been competitive. After six overs they were in front, but I thought the bowlers and fielders did really well to pull things back. Different times calls for different things, they have quality bowlers and we have to play it as we see it. The guys are working hard to get things right and again it’s just a matter of setting it up properly. The ball was wet and the bowlers were bowling high full tosses and I wanted them to have a fair share to execute. Having said that, it was a very, very good game of cricket”.
Meanwhile, there was a positive for West Indies as Roston Chase bowled a superb spell and kept his team in the contest. Chase conceded only 14 runs in his quota of four overs and scalped two wickets. Thus, the tourists will look to bounce back stronger in the second T20I and stay afloat in the three-match series.
West Indies are known to be a T20 force and they will aim to tick the right boxes in the next game. The visitors will want to come up with a collective batting effort. The second T20I will be played at the same venue of Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Friday.
