India’s captain Hardik Pandya, right, talks to West Indies’ Shai Hope at the end of their fifth T20 cricket match at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill.
| Photo Credit: AP
Indian captain Hardik Pandya admitted that his lack of rhythm and slow approach became a turning point as his team lost momentum during the back-10 overs of the fifth T20 International against West Indies, in Lauderhill on August 13.
The Indian team under Pandya lost its first bilateral series in the shortest format 2-3 against the West Indies but the skipper harped on the positives, like the emergence of youngsters like Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“If you see, we lost that period post 10 overs. Since when I came, I wasn’t able to capitalise and I took my time and could not finish,” Pandya was forthright in his admission having scored 14 off 18 balls.
On a slow track, Pandya defended his decision to bat first.
“I believe that as a group we have to challenge ourselves. All these games are the games where we have to learn. We have spoken as a group that whenever we can take the hard way we will.
“In hindsight, one series here or there doesn’t matter but the commitment to the goal is important.” Pandya knows that India will play World T20 in this part of the world but doesn’t want to look too far ahead.
“It’s a long way. We have the ODI World Cup coming up. And sometimes losing is good. You get to learn a lot. And special mention for all the boys. They showed great character. Winning and losing is a part of the process and we are going to make sure we learn from that.” Some of his bowling changes were panned by critics but he said that he goes by his instincts.
“It is what I feel at the moment, I don’t plan much. If I see a situation, whatever my gut says I follow, ” Pandya said.
Pandya praised Varma and Jaiswal for their lion-hearted effort.
“They’ve got heart. That is something that’s very important in international cricket. Every youngster coming through has belief. That’s something I see very often now. Kudos to them, they came out and took responsibility. I can’t be happier as a captain,” he concluded.