Kieron Pollard reveals why West Indies lost the first T20I match against India

West Indies T20 skipper, Kieron Pollard discussed his team’s six wickets loss in the first T20I against India during the post-match interview. He felt that the West Indian bowlers conceded too many extras in the second innings which ultimately led to the team’s defeat.

Pollard also mentioned that 208 was a defendable score at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium however, the poor execution of the bowlers helped India win the match. Besides, the Mumbai Indians star hailed Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis for their exceptional performances with the bat.

India had won the toss and Virat Kohli invited the visitors to bat first on the flat wicket in Hyderabad. Shimron Hetmyer hit a half-century while Kieron Pollard and Evin Lewis played two quick-fire knocks to take West Indies to 207/5 in their 20 overs.

Chasing 208, India got off to a good start thanks to KL Rahul. He laid the platform for the chase and Virat Kohli played a magnificent knock of 94 runs to take India home in the 19^th over of the second innings.

Kieron Pollard admits that his side conceded too many extras

“208 to defend, on any day you’d take that 10 out of 10 times. Where we lost the game was the extras and our bowling. Our execution was poor. If we had executed the plans we had spoken about, it would have been a different scenario despite the good batting wicket,” Pollard was quoted by Hindustan Times in his post-match interview.

He further praised his batsmen and added, “There are two areas in any game, and with the bat the guys were exceptional. There are a lot of positives to take from this game. Hetmyer and Lewis got back amongst the runs and that was quite satisfying, but we need to do the all-round basics right.”

When asked about his 19-ball 37 runs knock in the West Indian innings, he replied,  “Hopefully I have an idea of when to come up the order as a captain, and in a pressure situation, it’s important to push yourself and it’s a pleasure to perform for your team any day and get them across the line.”

The second T20I of the series will take place on 8^th December in Thiruvananthapuram.

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