West Indies cricket clinched the T20I series by winning the 5th T20I match against India in Florida. Hardik Pandya-led side was completely outplayed by West Indies from the word go. Once again, Hardik Pandya‘s captaincy was questionable as the target of 166 runs was chased with 2 overs left. Hardik gave the ball to the likes of Tilak Verma & Yashasvi Jaiswal even when the side had an outside chance of defending the target.
West Indies’ opener Brandon King paced his innings next to perfection as the dashing right-handed batter smashed a turbulent yet mature knock of 85 runs in 55 balls and struck 5 fours and 6 huge sixes. It won’t be wrong to say that the side has started to tick the boxes under head coach Darren Sammy after missing out on ODI WC 2023 qualification which was quite humiliating.
We don’t need to explain much- Hardik Pandya
During the post-match presentation, skipper Hardik Pandya was asked about the team’s performance. Hardik made a controversial statement that his side doesn’t need to give an explanation and said that losing is fine which can raise a lot of eyebrows as the T20 WC 2024 is around the corner
“We lost the momentum when I came in and couldn’t capitalize on the situation. I believe we gonna challenge ourselves. We try to get better. In hindsight, it is fine. We don’t need to explain much. I know how the boys are within the group. We have enough time to figure out. Losing is good at times,” said Hardik Pandya
A big thank you to everyone- Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was quite happy after seeing the performance of the youngsters in the T20I series against West Indies. Hardik Pandya pointed out that the players are showing character and thanked the fans & was looking ahead of the marquee T20 WC 2024 which is slated to take place in June at USA- West Indies 2024.
“They kept coming and tried something new. It is part of the process. It is what I feel at that moment. If I see a situation, I generally prefer something that comes to mind. No rocket science, just my gut feel. Every youngster who is coming in is showing character,” he stated.
“I can’t be more happy when I see a youngster comes in and puts his hand up. A big thank you to everyone. The T20 World Cup would be here. There would be bigger numbers then,” he added
Also Read: ICC T20 WC 2024: Is Hardik Pandya A Good Leader For T20 WC 2024?