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'A Young Team Will Make Mistakes...,' Hardik Pandya Laments Poor Batting After Losing Opening T20I to West Indies

image-lkvj95vnWest Indies players celebrating their first win of the series. (Twitter)

India's T20I captain, Hardik Pandya, expressed his disappointment following a narrow four-run loss to hosts West Indies in the opening match of the five-match T20I series in Tarouba. Despite the Indian bowlers limiting West Indies to 149/6, India's batting struggled, losing wickets regularly and finishing at 145/9.

Pandya acknowledged the team's youthfulness and admitted that errors in batting proved costly, emphasizing the learning process for the young squad. Despite the setback, he maintained an optimistic outlook for the remaining four matches, demonstrating his determination to stage a comeback.

“We were right to chase. We made some errors which costed us the game. A young team will make mistakes. We will learn. Good four games ahead. In T20 cricket, if you lose wickets, it becomes difficult to chase. A couple of hits can change the momentum. When we lost a couple of wickets, that halted us,” Hardik Pandya commented in the aftermath of the loss.

Regarding the decision to play three spinners, Pandya clarified that it was based on the spinners' strengths. He elaborated on the strategy of providing opportunities to emerging wrist spinners. He particularly commended Mukesh Kumar, who made an impressive debut across all three formats during the West Indies tour, highlighting his contribution in delivering consecutive overs.

“It (when asked about playing three spinners) was more to do with the spinners. We wanted to give opportunities to the two wristies. Mukesh (Kumar) - to have this two weeks in West Indies - to make debuts in all three formats is really good. He bowled a couple of overs back to back,” Pandya elaborated.

Pandya also lauded the debutant Tilak Varma, who showcased his ability by scoring 39 off 22 balls. He admired Varma's fearless and confident approach, expressing his satisfaction with the young player's performance. Pandya confidently predicted a promising future for these emerging talents, foreseeing their valuable contributions to Indian cricket.

"Tilak's performance was very pleasing to see. There's confidence and fearlessness in these youngsters. They are going to do wonders for India,"  he concluded.

The Hardik Pandya led Indian team will be determined to mount a comeback in the second match of the five-game series at Georgetown's Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday, August 6th.