India’s T20I skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that losing is good at times after the team lost the five-match T20I series by 3-2 against the West Indies. The Windies won the deciding game by eight wickets at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday after the visitors failed to defend 165 runs.
Pandya feels there were a lot of learnings and positives as the young team showed character throughout the series. In fact, India was down by 2-0 in the series but bounced back to level the series by winning the next two games comprehensively.
This was India’s first five-match T20I series loss against the West Indies. Furthermore, it is also Hardik Pandya’s first series loss as a T20I skipper.
However, despite the loss, Pandya looked at the bright side of things. There were a lot of positives with Tilak Varma, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Suryakumar Yadav performing at their best.
Meanwhile, India could only manage 165 runs on the board after Pandya decided to bat first, with Romario Shepherd returning with 4-31. SKY top-scored with 61 runs but the West Indies won convincingly in the end after Brandon King played an unbeaten knock of 85 runs. Moreover, Nicholas Pooran continued his dream form, scoring 47 runs in the run-chase.
Hardik Pandya said in the post-match presentation, “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. On the positive side, we have done a lot of learnings.”
He added, “The boys showed character. Credit to them. They kept coming and tried something new. It is part of the process. It is what I feel at that moment. If I see a situation, I generally prefer something that comes to mind. No rocket science, just my gut feel. Every youngster who is coming in, is showing character. I can’t be more happy when I see a youngster comes in and puts his hand up. A big thank you to everyone. The T20 World Cup would be here. There would be bigger numbers then.”
India will aim to bounce back stronger in the three-match T20I series against Ireland. Jasprit Bumrah, who will be making a comeback after a long hiatus, will lead the team.
