MUMBAI, India, CMC – A disappointed West Indies captain Jason Holder has lamented his side’s batting meltdown, which he said was unfortunate especially coming on the backs of superb performances in the previous three matches of the series.
The Windies suffered a record 224-run defeat to India in the fourth One-Day International of the five-match series at Brabourne Stadium here yesterday, after they were dismissed for 154 in pursuit of a massive 378.
For the tourists, it was their worst showing in the series after exceeding 300 in the first two matches and then successfully defending 283 in the third ODI last Saturday.
“We didn’t play well enough today. I guess we allowed them to score too many runs and obviously we never got going when we batted. The application wasn’t there and we lost wickets up front and we were never able to build any momentum,” said Holder.
“The cricket we’ve played so far in this series, today doesn’t do justice to it. [India made] too many runs and I felt it was a really good wicket. Outfield was lightning [fast] and it’s a wicket that once you get in, you can go big.
“It’s just unfortunate that none of our batters really got in and gave themselves a chance to bat deep into the innings.”
Holder, batting at number seven, was the only Windies player to pass 20 as he top-scored with 54 off 70 deliveries to notch his seventh ODI half-century.
The run chase started disastrously when both Shai Hope (0) and Kieran Powell (4) were run out in the space of five deliveries, to leave the innings tottering on 20 for three in the sixth over.
There was no recovery despite Holder’s intervention as 20-year-old left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed (3-13) and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (3-42) ripped through the middle and lower order.
Holder pointed to the run outs as key, noting they were ill-afforded especially when chasing a large total.
“Run-outs are something that you just don’t want in one-day cricket or any limited overs cricket for that matter,” he stressed.
“It was two of our better players up front and it really set us back and there was a lot to do to rebuild to get to 370-odd. So in games like these here, you try not to get run out and you try to build a partnership up front which we never got.”
With the victory, India took a 2-1 lead in the series with the final match carded for Thursday in Thiruvananthapuram.
Holder said the Caribbean side had not given up hope of at least squaring the series now.
“Cricket is played on the day. We just go out there to play a clinical game of cricket – it just didn’t come off today. Hopefully the guys can regroup in the next couple of days and come back stronger.”
