When a team puts 249 runs on the board in a T20I and still ends up on the losing side, questions over its bowling performance are inevitable. That was the situation India faced on Friday night in Ranchi, where the West Indies pulled off a remarkable chase to defeat the hosts.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir faced the media after a high-scoring contest in which both teams combined for 502 runs in 38.3 overs. While analysing the defeat, Gambhir singled out West Indies spinner Roston Chase for his crucial contribution, describing his spell as decisive.
” If you look at the context of the game, it (Roston Chase’s spell) was a game-changing, match-winning spell. The way he changed his lines was important on this wicket. But against dangerous teams like West Indies, we need to find a way to defend totals,” Gambhir said during the post-match press conference.
“You have to keep changing your lines and make the batters guess. If you keep bowling the same line and length, they can settle in. He bowled at the batters’ legs, went wide and bowled full. He kept changing his approach, and those variations are very important on wickets like these.”
“I don’t blame anyone or anything. The bottom line is that we could not defend 250. They batted extremely well and deserved to win. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Roston Chase Stuns India In Middle Overs
Chase finished with figures of 3/24, removing Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube during the middle overs. His spell helped the visitors regain control after India had made an aggressive start with the bat.
Sanju Samson top-scored for India with 82, while Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma also made quick contributions to take the hosts to 249/5. However, the imposing total proved insufficient as the West Indies reached the target in just 18.3 overs.
Mayank Yadav’s Drop Proves Costly
India also had a missed opportunity in the field when Mayank Yadav dropped a catch offered by Sherfane Rutherford. The West Indies batter went on to score 84 and combined with Shai Hope, who remained unbeaten on 102, in a match-winning 120-run partnership.
“The toss is not in your hands. Catches get dropped; it has happened in the past and will happen in the future. Nobody drops catches intentionally, so you cannot blame anyone for that,” Gambhir said.
“I don’t know if there is a safe total. We thought 250 was a good score, especially after taking two early wickets. But credit to the West Indies for what they achieved with the bat,” he added.
The visitors’ explosive batting ultimately overshadowed India’s big total, leaving Gambhir and the team with questions to answer about their ability to defend high scores against a dangerous West Indies batting line-up.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
