IND vs WI: Rovman Powell Feels West Indies Were Short Of Spinners In 1st T20I

West Indies skipper Rovman Powell feels that his team was short of spinners in IND vs WI 1st T20I. West Indies defeated India by 4 runs in the opening T20I encounter to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Rovman Powell played a marvelous knock for the team. The right-handed batsman led the batting from the front, smacking 48 runs off 32 balls. In the low-scoring match, West Indies piled up 149-6 in 1st innings. However, they managed to defend their total later.

I Was Thinking If We Were A Spinner Short: Rovman Powell

While speaking during the post-match press conference, Rovman Powell said that after watching India’s bowling, he felt his team was short of spinners in the match. However, he also added that pacers did a good job later.

“It’s a very good feeling. We talked about starting the series on a positive note, and we did that today… After watching the Indians bowl, I was thinking if we were a spinner short. But the fast bowlers bowled into the wicket,” Rovman Powell said.

Akeal Hosein was the sole spinner for West Indies in the match. In his 4-over spell, he conceded 17 runs and picked 1 wicket. Powell also feels that West Indies batter will need to play spin effectively during the series. According to him, this will be a crucial factor in winning the T20I series against India.

“It was difficult to bat, it was always going to be a good powerplay and a slowdown in the middle. This series will be decided how the West Indian batters play spin in the middle overs… it makes the left-hand batters very important”, the right-handed batsman further added.

India spinners enjoyed a good advantage in the match. Yuzvendra Chahal grabbed 2 opening wickets to crush Caribbean openers. Kuldeep Yadav also hunted 1 wicket. While Chahal conceded 24 runs in his 4-over spell, Yadav leaked only 20 runs.

West Indies Take 1-0 Lead In Five-Match T20I Series

Although the home team was short of spinners, their pacers did a decent job to clinch victory for the team by 4 runs. Pacers Obed McCoy, Jason Holder, and Romario Shepherd hunted 2 wickets each to restrict India to 145-9 in 20 overs. Hence, West Indies won the match by 4 runs.

With the victory, West Indies now has a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. India vs West Indies 2nd ODI takes place on August 6 (Sunday). The venue of the encounter is Providence Stadium in Guyana.