IND vs WI: Would Have Been A Different Game Had We Got Early Wickets – Nicholas Pooran On 3rd T20I Loss
Published - 03 Aug 2022, 07:07 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:11 AM
West Indies white-ball skipper Nicholas Pooran said picking wickets at an early stage in the chase was something his side missed in the third T20I match against India.
On Tuesday, India defeated West Indies by seven wickets in the third match of this series at Warner Park in St Kitts to restore the lead with a 2-1 margin.
Kyle Mayers’ 73 propels WI to 164/5
West Indies openers Kyle Mayers and Brandon King got to a great start with the former playing the aggressor’s role in the powerplay overs. Mayers was involved in two 50-plus partnerships, with his 57-run opening stand with King was halted by Hardik Pandya in the eighth over.
Mayers further went on to stitch another 50 runs with his skipper Pooran (22 in 23 balls) before the latter poked one to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Mayers’s incredible knock of 73 in 50 balls was ended by Bhuvneshwar in the 17th over.
West Indies could manage just 32 runs in the last three overs to post 164/5 on the board at the end of their innings.
Felt we had to get early wickets: Nicholas Pooran
Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav set the tone for the chase with a spectacular 76 from 44 balls, laced with eight fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 172.73. Shreyas Iyer played a supportive role to Suryakumar just after Rohit Sharma was retired hurt in the second over of the Indian innings.
India chased the target with one over to spare as wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant (33*) provided the finishing touches to his team.
“Felt we had to get early wickets. Didn’t do that. We felt like we had enough. India bowled well. Wicket was on the slower side, felt it was difficult to keep scoring on it. Would’ve been a different game had we got early wickets,” said Pooran in a post-match presentation.
“We kept losing wickets in the middle overs. We lost the game but did a lot of right things. Felt like we were 10-15 runs short. But early wickets could’ve changed the game today,” he added.
The fourth T20I between West Indies and India is scheduled to be played at Central Broward Park, Lauderhill, Florida in the United States of America (USA) on August 6.
