"A young team will make mistakes" - Hardik Pandya reacts to India's defeat in 1st T20I vs WI

India skipper Hardik Pandya reiterated that a young team are bound to make mistakes after the Men in Blue lost the first T20I by four runs against the West Indies on Thursday.

Chasing 150, the visitors lost both their openers, Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill early. However, the debutant Tilak Varma showed some intent and stitched together a crucial 39-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav.

India were cruising home at 67/2 in 9.1 overs when Jason Holder got the better of Suryakumar. Since then, India lost wickets at regular intervals to finish four runs short and go 0-1 down in the five-match series.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Hardik Pandya didn't seem too bothered about the outcome of the match.

"We were right in the chase and quite comfortable there," he said. "We made some errors which costed us the game which is fine. A young team will make mistakes. We will grow together. Throughout the game, we were in control of the game which was the positive in this game. Good four games coming ahead."

Citing the reason behind the loss, Hardik stated that losing too many wickets halted their run chase.

"In T20 cricket, if you lose wickets, it becomes difficult to chase down any total, that's exactly what happened. A couple of hits can change the momentum towards you. When we lost a couple of wickets, that halted our chase," he continued.

It is worth noting that the Men in Blue lost Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson in the 16th over, which shifted the momentum in the West Indies' favor. Arshdeep Singh made a valiant effort with a couple of boundaries but failed to take his team over the line.

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Hardik Pandya impressed with Tilak Varma's confidence

Despite the loss, Tilak Varma earned plaudits for his fearless batting. The left-handed batter opened his account in international cricket with two consecutive sixes off Alzzari Joseph.

The 20-year-old gave a good account of himself with an enterprising 39-run knock from 22 deliveries, including three sixes and two fours.

Hardik Pandya showered praise on Tilak, saying:

"Tilak - very pleasing to see the way he started his innings. Not a bad way to start your international cricket with a couple of sixes. There's confidence and the fearlessness they have. They are going to do wonders for India."

India will look to bounce back in the second T20I scheduled to be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday, August 6.