Team India suffered a two-wicket defeat at the hands of West Indies in the second T20I at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday (August 6). As a result, the Men in Blue went 2-0 down in the five-match series.

Opting to bat first, India posted 152/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Newcomer Tilak Varma waged a lone battle for the visitors, scoring 51 off 41 balls while batting at No. 4.

In reply, the hosts rode on wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran’s brutal 67 in 40 balls to overhaul the target with seven deliveries to spare.

Reflecting on his team’s performance, India skipper Hardik Pandya said that the batters need to perform better going forward.

“If am being honest that was a not a pleasing batting performance, we could have batted better,” Hardik said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“160+ or 170 would have been a good total. The way he (Tilak Varma) has been batting, becomes very difficult to rotate spinners. 2/2 and the way he batted, took the game quite into their hands,” he added.

The captain further emphasized that the top seven batters need to take more responsibility.

“With the current combination we have we will have to trust out top 7 batters to come good and hope the bowlers win you games. We have to find ways to make sure we have the right balance but at the same time batters need to take more responsibility. Left-hander coming at 4 gives us variety. It doesn’t feel like it’s his second international game,” Hardik concluded.

The third T20I has now become a must-win game for the visitors to stay alive in the series. The match will be played at the same venue in Guyana on Tuesday (August 8).