We Gave Away Too Many Runs In The Final Overs - Kieron Pollard

It was not a great day at the office for the Kieron Pollard-led side. They were outsmarted entirely by the Indian National Cricket Team in all sections of the game. The classy centuries from Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, followed by the majestic spell from Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav knocked down West Indies to bag a 107-run loss in the second ODI game.

Though Kieron Pollard won the toss, he asked the Virat Kohli-led side to bat first. The decision turned out to be wrong for West Indies, as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul played sensational knocks for the team. After the show from the duo, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant paired up to take the total to 387 runs on the board.

In reply to the chase, West Indies started well with Shai Hope and Evin Lewis knocking boundaries consistently before Shardul Thakur giving a breakthrough for the team. Later, Nicholas Pooran and Hope tried to take away the game from India, but Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav completely changed the complexion of the game with their fine spell in the middle overs.

It was a matter of execution for us – Kieron Pollard

Speaking of the game, Kieron Pollard felt that the bowlers leaked too many runs in the final overs, which never allowed West Indies to settle in the game. He congratulated Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul for centuries, and also showered words of praise on Nicholas Pooran, who showed his calibre in the middle. Kieron Pollard hopes the team to come good in the final ODI of the series at Cuttack.

 ”I thought we gave away too many runs at the back end, in the last 20 overs. We were a bit indisciplined towards the end of the 50 overs. We thought and saw that it will be a good wicket. They were able to get away from us at the back end. But it also showed, in order to win they have to score big against us. It was a matter of execution for us. 40-50 runs less, it might have been little different.”

”Rohit batted well and so did KL Rahul. That allowed the other batsmen to play freely with the platform laid. There are some youngsters and there are some talented ones, I have spoken about them again and again. Pooran we got a glimpse of him tonight. Nothing happens overnight, it’s about putting the pieces of the puzzle together, it’s work in progress.”

”Didn’t spend much time in there. We deserve to go out with a bang, our heads and shoulders are still high. We’ll come back and fight hard in a couple of days. Virat hasn’t had a great time in this series, so he would look to come hard against us in the final game,” he added.

Well, it was a tough loss for Kieron Pollard-led side on Wednesday. The team would hope to come good in the final ODI of the series, which will decide the winner of the series. The final ODI will be played on Sunday in Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.