India Vs West Indies T20I: You Don't Deserve To Win When You Don't Grab Your Chances, Says Virat Kohli

Not being too critical of the loss in the one-off T20I against West Indies, India skipper Virat Kohli has said the team needs to be patient with the inexperienced players.

Brimming with confidence after winning the ODI series 3-1, Team India started the proceedings at Sabina Park on Sunday (July 9) in the same fashion with Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan giving the team a blistering start, adding 64 runs for the first wicket in just 33 balls. However, the Men in Blue could not sustain the momentum and managed to post 190 for 6 when the team was looking destined to put up well over 200.

In reply, the reigning World T20 champions rode on Evin Lewis‘ second T20I hundred to chase down the total with nine balls remaining. India’s miseries were compiled by their horrific fielding effort with the fielders dropping Lewis twice and the team paid a hefty price for it as Lewis slammed 125 off just 62 balls.

“I thought even in the first innings we could have scored 20-30 runs extra. We were on course to get 220+ but we did not grab our chances and when you don’t, you do not deserve to win, especially with the wind and when the batsmen are playing like that,” Kohli said after the game.

However, Kohli urged patience for the players who are relatively new in the international circuit. His comment was perhaps directed towards Rishabh Pant who struggled to get going in only his second T20. The 19-year old came to the crease after Kohli’s dismissal but failed to carry on in the same manner, scoring 38 off 35 balls.

“If you give a good start up the order, one batsman needs to bat through. We couldn’t really carry on. Dinesh was really good in the middle overs but no one got an 80-90 odd. We also couldn’t take our catches which cost us a bit. All these games are a good feeder of how players react in such situations. We need to be patient with these guys,” Kohli noted.

The India skipper concluded by saying that the loss in the one-off match would not dampen the spirit of the team which will leave for India with a smiling face.

“We did well in the ODIs, lost one game. And one match here doesn’t make a series according to me. We always enjoy coming here, we won the Test series as well the last time and we go home very happy,” Kohli said.