India’s T20I captain Hardik Pandya had made a bold statement before the tour of West Indies that India can pick two teams and win any tournament in the world. However, it seems his words must be haunting him as India suffered a 2-wicket loss against West Indies on Sunday, losing the five-match series 2-0 with three games to go.
Despite missing some big names, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Pandya had expressed confidence in the talent and depth of the Indian squad, saying that they had enough quality to challenge any team.
However, India’s performance in the T20I series has been far from impressive, as they failed to defend 152 in the 2nd game. India’s batting has been the main culprit, as they have lost wickets at regular intervals and struggled to find any momentum.
Netizens were quick to call out Pandya after the loss and trolled the Indian T20I skipper for his ‘overconfident comment’.
Check out some of the reactions:
What went wrong for skipper Hardik Pandya in 2nd T20I?
While Hardik Pandya picked three wickets in the match, his captaincy was a disappointment. The all-rounder made some questionable decisions as a captain, which cost India dearly.
Here are three mistakes that Pandya made in the second T20I that led to India’s defeat:
- No batting depth: Pandya went with 2 spinners which limited India’s batting strength. Ravi Bishnoi came at no.8 which shows Team India has a long tail. Couple of quick wickets and West Indies were in top and controlled Indian innings.
- Underbowling Chahal: Pandya underutilized his best spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, who bowled only three overs and took two wickets for 19 runs. Chahal was the most economical and effective bowler for India, but Pandya did not give him his full quota of four overs. Instead, he opted for Mukesh Yadav to bowl the penultimate over which proved to be a losing over as well.
- Giving inexperienced Bishnoi an over against Pooran: Pandya made a costly blunder by giving leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi against in-form Nicholas Pooran, who was well set and hitting big shots. Pooran smashed Bishnoi for 18 runs in one over which proved to be the difference between the two teams.
Pandya will have to learn from his mistakes quickly and lead from the front if India are to salvage some pride in the remaining three T20Is. The 3rd T20I will be played on August 8.
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