IND vs WI | We fell 10-15 runs short to be honest, opines Nicholas Pooran

02/17/2022

West Indies Wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran said that the team fell 10-15 runs short of the par score after losing the first T20I of the three-match series against India by six wickets. Pooran scored 61 runs from 43 balls playing a key role in the total of 157/7 scored by visitors.

West Indies made a disappointing start to the T20I series against India losing the first match of the series by six wickets. The game was played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India opted to bowl first on the surface considering the dew factor in the game. West Indies kept losing wickets at regular intervals but Nicholas Pooran played a knock of 61 runs from 43 balls.

The visitors posted a total of 157/7 in the first innings and India chased the target with loss of four wickets in the penultimate over. Reflecting on the loss, Pooran opined that the team fell 10-15 runs short of the par score and the target should have been more.

"The match definitely slipped, we fell 10-15 runs short to be honest, 170-175 would have been perfect on that kind of track. Cannot really fault the bowlers, as batters we needed to pace our innings a bit smarter," Pooran said during a virtual press conference.

"It was a bit tricky today, the ball was stopping a bit, it was two-paced. I thought India bowled well, there is a lot of dew here, toss was a big factor as well. Conditions and dew played a big factor in the end.”

Pooran also said that Jason Holder who missed the fixture after getting hit on the chest, looks fine now and might play the next game.

"Jason Holder seems fine, he should be ready for the next game. I do not know the details of his niggle, so I cannot say about that," he revealed.

India had a flying start while chasing as skipper Rohit Sharma scored 40 runs from just 19 balls. The chase was getting difficult in the middle overs as the boundaries were not coming fluently. However, Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer built a crucial partnership to take India over the finishing line. Pooran said that the ball was coming into bat better in the second innings.

"I thought the wicket played better in the second half. The ball was also coming on a little better," he stated.