West Indies captain Kieron Pollard rued the middle order’s inability to capitalize on a good start and closeout matches after his team’s one-run defeat in the third T20I to go behind in the 1-2 in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa.
After bowling out South Africa to 167/8 in 20 overs, the West Indies had a good start and the game was in their control, as the hosts were 90/2 at the halfway mark, needing just 78 runs in the final 10 overs, but the failure of the middle-order saw them fell short of the target by 1 run against South Africa.
After conceding a 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, Pollard said West Indies needs to find a way to win the games as the skipper wasn’t happy with his team’s batting efforts.
As reported by Cricbuzz, Pollard said: “It has plagued us over the two games, and we need to get the chase right. We had a lot of dots and didn't capitalize on a good start. We couldn't get over the line despite starts, and we have to find a way, that's it.”
He added, “We have close matches, some you win, some you lose. We need to find a way to win.”
West Indies bowlers Obed McCoy and Dwayne Bravo returned with the stunning efforts of 4/22 and 3/25 respectively as they kept South African batsmen under control, keeping them to just 167 runs and Pollard hailed his bowlers for their flawless performances.
He concluded, “The bowlers have been fantastic, you can't fault their efforts. Both teams have gotten off to good starts, but Obed and Bravo have executed well to restrict SA to 167. Obed had a brilliant series last year, and to continue that this series shows that he's growing.”
Meanwhile, Proteas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who was named Man of the Match for his remarkable figures of 2/13 in 4 overs, credited his entire team for the thrilling victory over the West Indies.
Shamsi said, “It was nice to put in a performance for the team, but the whole bowling performance was brilliant. Quinny (de Kock) showed his class, good powerplay. You have to change lines and lengths according to the pitches. We had a hard chat after the first game. We got criticism but people forget this is a young bowling group and you can see that the boys are learning quickly.”
He signed off by saying, “Depending on the batters you are bowling to, you got to adjust your lines and lengths accordingly. The guys showed great guts, happy to be 2-1 up. The wickets are getting tougher, so credit to our batting unit for the way we started. Didn't finish well but we fully back them. We bowlers are there to defend whatever is on the board.”
Noteworthy, the fourth T20I will be played on July 1 in Grenada.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
