India vs West Indies 2019: Kieron Pollard feels conceding too many extras cost Windies the match

What's the story?

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard discussed his team's defeat during the post-match presentation of the first T20I match against India on Friday. As per Pollard, conceding too many extras took the momentum away from West Indies. Besides, he even appreciated the wonderful batting performances of Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer.

The background

India invited West Indies to bat first in the opening match of their three-match T20I series in Hyderabad yesterday. Batting on a flat wicket, West Indies posted 207 runs on the board, riding on Hetmyer's half-century and quick-fire knocks by Pollard, Lewis and Jason Holder.

Chasing 208, KL Rahul provided a solid start to the home side and then a special innings from Virat Kohli helped India win the match by six wickets. Kesrick Williams leaked 60 runs in his 3.4 overs, while the Caribbean bowlers gave away 23 runs as extras in the run chase.

A captain's knock by @imVkohli as India win the 1st T20I by 6 wickets. #INDvWI #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/osg63znNEn

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 6, 2019

Also see - Ranji schedule

The heart of the matter

Reflecting on his team's six wickets loss, Pollard said,

“208 to defend, on any day you’d take that 10 out of 10 times. Where we lost the game was the extras and our bowling. Our execution was poor. If we had executed the plans we had spoken about, it would have been a different scenario despite the good batting wicket.”

However, the skipper lauded his batsmen for their performance. While Hetmyer scored 56 runs off 41 balls, Lewis played a knock of 40 runs off 17 deliveries.

“There are two areas in any game, and with the bat the guys were exceptional. There are a lot of positives to take from this game. Hetmyer and Lewis got back amongst the runs and that was quite satisfying, but we need to do the all-round basics right,” Pollard praised his batsmen."

The skipper helped his team to cross the 200-run mark with his 19-ball 37 knock. When asked about his personal performance, the all-rounder said,

“Hopefully I have an idea of when to come up the order as a captain, and in a pressure situation, it’s important to push yourself and it’s a pleasure to perform for your team any day and get them across the line."

What's next?

West Indies will look to keep the series alive when they meet India at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.