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'Sometimes Losing Is Good…': Hardik Pandya After India’s T20I Series Defeat To West Indies

image-ll9w6royHardik Pandya in action against WI (AP)

Team India, fresh from their back-to-back wins against West Indies, were humbled in the series-decider by eight wickets. Earlier in the game, Indian interim captain Hardik Pandya had won the toss and opted to bat first.

The ‘Men in Blue’ charted 165-9 upfront off the back of Suryakumar Yadav’s sparkling 61. However, his knock was overpowered by West Indies’ opener Brandon King in the run-chase, whose 85* romped his side to victory with two overs to spare.

After the match, Pandya talked about the positives his team took from the series, and praised the performance of the youngsters in the absence of senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Pandya says team will learn in time for 2024 T20 WC

Hardik Pandya faced 18 balls to score just 14 after arriving to the crease at 66-3 in the eighth over of the innings. During the post-match presentation, the skipper admitted that he failed to capitalise on the earlier momentum set by Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav.

“If you see, we lost that period post ten overs. Since when I came, I wasn't able to capitalise and I took my time and could not finish.”

With next year’s T20 World Cup also set to be played in West Indies and USA, the cricketer was asked to sum up India’s defeat in these conditions. He said that he does not mind losing at this stage as it gives them time to prepare, and further praised his team for showing great character throughout the series.

“It's a long way. We have the ODI WC 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.”

Pandya shared his experience of leading an inexperienced bunch of players. He said:

“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.”

The Indian team will now travel to Ireland for a three-match T20I series. The interim skipper will not be a part of the travelling squad, and comeback man Jasprit Bumrah will be leading the side instead.