That was a not a pleasing batting performance – Hardik Pandya lashes out at batters after India’s second T20I loss

Things took an unexpected turn for the Indian cricket team as they slumped down to their second straight defeat against the Islanders in the five-match T20I series, with West Indies now firmly the favourites to cause an upset.

The India team was right on the doorstep of a remarkable victory that would have featured a fabulous turnaround, only to be refused an entry to the Promised Land by a handful of questionable decisions from Pandya and some resolute batting from the duo of Akeal Hossein and Alzarri Joseph.

India’s batters couldn’t really showcase their exemplary flair after being put into bat as they had to brave choppy waters with Tilak Varma being the solitary beacon of hope, with the team limping their way to 152/7 from 20 overs. Although the bowlers pulled off a phenomenal job to leave West Indies stuck in a swamp, eventually the Hosein-Joseph pair denied India victory. 

Talking at the post-match presentation, Hardik Pandya expressed displeasure at the way things unfurled and lashed out at his teammates for quite an abysmal display that allowed West Indies to bolster their grip on the series.

Hardik opened up with what exactly went wrong and where it went south for India, saying, “If am being honest that was not a pleasing batting performance, we could have batted better. 160+ or 170 would have been a good total.”

Hardik also shed some light on the strategy of playing seven batters that somehow doesn’t exactly fit the bill of modern-day cricket. He said, “With the current combination we have we will have to trust our top 7 batters to come good and hope the bowlers win you games. We have to find ways to make sure we have the right balance but at the same time batters need to take more responsibility.”

He also heaped praises on the way Nicholas Pooran, who changed the complexion of the game with his 40-ball 67 batted, adding, “The way he has been batting, becomes very difficult to rotate spinners. 2/2 and the way he batted, took the game quite into their hands.”

He concluded by praising young Tilak Varma’s brilliant half-century, stating, “Left-hander coming at 4 gives us variety. It doesn't feel like it's his second international game.” 

India will be taking the yard again in a day’s time to try and keep the series alive as the third T20I will be played at Guyana on August 8th.