West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran said that his team’s 119-run defeat in the third and final ODI against India is tough to digest, but he felt the hosts tried their best after suffering yet another whitewash in the ODI series on Wednesday (July 27).
In a rain-curtailed third and final ODI, West Indies were set for a revised target of 257 runs in 35 overs to win the match, but Indian bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal (4/17), Mohammed Siraj (2/14) and Shardul Thakur (2/17) bowled brilliantly to restrict the hosts to 137 on Wednesday.
Captain Pooran (42), Brendon King (42), and Shai Hope (22) could only manage to face the Indian attack, while the rest of the batting unit could cumulatively amass only 25 runs in the final ODI at the Queen's Park Oval. Coming to the bowling, Hayden Walsh Jr. scalped two wickets against India.
Nicholas Pooran said at the post-match presentation: “It was a tough one for us. We did a lot of right things in the first two games. I think we tried our best, the boys performed well. But there were a lot of games in a short span of time.”
The skipper said West Indies batter failed to build up partnerships and that cost them the match. However, they are now looking forward to the five-match T20I series against India, starting on July 29.
Pooran explained, “As a batting group, it was going to be a challenge with DLS coming into play. We did get some partnerships, but not as many as we wanted. That cost us the game. We gained a lot in this series after coming from Guyana.”
He signed off by saying, “The bowlers bowled well in the powerplay. They didn't get wickets, but that's fine. The guys are getting more confident with every game. Very excited with our T20 team, looking forward to the game on Friday.”
(With ANI Inputs)
