West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard pointed out the positives for his side after the 6-wicket defeat against India in the first ODI of the three-match series at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Asked to bat first, the Kieron Pollard-led side displayed a poor batting performance and found themselves tumbling at 79/7. However, Jason Holder stepped up and smashed a gritty half-century. He along with Fabian Allen (29) stitched 78 runs partnership and helped their side post a total of 176 runs on the board after a sloppy start.
While defending the target, West Indies had no clue for the first 13 overs as Rohit Sharma (60) and Ishan Kishan (28) batted sensationally for an 84-run opening stand. However, after that, the Kieron Pollard-led side took four quick wickets to put India in a spot of bother.
But in the end, the target was not enough as Suryakumar Yadav (34*) along with Deepak Hooda (26*) stitched an unbeaten 62 runs partnership to take their side home in 28 overs.
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Speaking at the post-match presentation, Kieron Pollard expressed his disappointment and said that not being able to bat 50 overs is not ideal as they need to dig deeper and get better with technique.
“Of course, losing with 22 overs to spare is not ideal. Not being able to bat 50 overs - we’ve got to take stock of that. We got to dig deeper and get better with techniques, again myself included," Kieron Pollard said.
Pollard said that even while defending a low total, they took four wickets, which shows that if they put some runs on the board they can compete. He added that toss is a crucial factor as the ball in the second innings slid onto the bat.
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“Having said that, not the result we wanted, but credit to the guys turning up. Has been difficult the last couple of days. Getting four wickets there shows if we put some runs we can compete. Toss is a crucial factor. It’s wet out there right now. Tonight it just slid onto the bat. That’s the nature of cricket, we can’t change that," he said.
Kieron Pollard further lauded Jason Holder for a gritty half-century. He said that the all-rounder can bat in any position and has a crucial role to play for them. He also pointed out the positives from the game and remarked that they will come back stronger.
“You can say that (Holder should bat higher?). 12 months ago guys would not be saying that. He can bat in any position in the order. Yes, he can bat at six. He has a role to play for us. He came in a crucial scenario and made a crucial fifty.
“The lower-order batting from Jason and Fabian. Joseph and Akeal Hosein did the work for us with the ball - those were the positives. We will come back and see what happens," he said.
The second ODI between India and West Indies will take place on 9th February at the same venue.
(News 18 inputs)
