India thrashed a seemingly directionless West Indies by 88 runs in the fifth T20I to end the series with a 4-1 scoreline.
In batting first, India started off on a great note with Shreyas Iyer scoring a fiery 40-ball 60 and was ably supported by Deepak Hooda, who scored 38 off 25 as the team reached 122 for three in 13 overs.
But West Indies bounced back in supreme fashion conceding 66 runs in the last seven overs while picking four wickets.
However, West Indies were never part of the chase. Axar Patel gave India the first breakthrough as he struck in the opening over before he picked up two more in quick time.
Kuldeep Yadav, who was playing for the first time in the series, picked three as well while Ravi Bishnoi picked four wickets as India folded West Indies for just 100 runs in 15.4 overs.
India eventually wrapped up the series with a 4-1 win. Their only defeat came in the second T20I where West Indies won by 5 wickets.
Meanwhile, batting problems of the Windies were thoroughly examined by former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri and Mohammad Kaif.
With cricketers like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard taking retirement from the game, the Windies’ batting order disintegrated.
While Shastri praised how the Windies played admirably in the Indian Premier League but also admitted how they are not being able to translate such appearances into international colors.
speaking about the same, Ravi Shastri asked about the below-par batting performance of the Windies to Mohammed Kaif to know about his point of view on this.
“Kaif, you played IPL for so many years. They play in the IPL, and they are so impressive. So what is their problem? Why doesn’t he play for West Indies? Have you talked to them?” Shastri asked on live television on FanCode.
Responding to the same, Kaif said:
“The issue is that they get a lot of matches to play abroad. They can get fame and money. So that’s the difference. I also think that their former cricketers weren’t successful in convincing these players (to give time to the West Indies)”
“When Pollard was the captain, he did a great job. He made a brilliant team. They had Russell, Bravo, Simmons. Pollard convinced them to play for the Windies.” he added
West Indies are the only side to win two T20 World Cups.
This is madness. Lendl Simmons, a proven performer for the West Indies has consistently been overlooked. Russell, Narine and Evin Lewis other proven performers are no were to be found. Why are they not playing for the West Indies?
The West Indies make bad selections. Feel bad for their captain. It is easy to blame wickets, but how come the wickets are good for their opponents?
The answer to this in my view is simple . International cricket like any other sport is of a higher standard than the IPL or any other league . Our players don’t have the professional approach required for international cricket
The standard are much higher than what they are playing. Looking at the matches they played. Nicholas Pooran midfield a ball, fell to the ground, smiled and didn’t even bother to get up right away and fetch the ball. This is the captain I am talking about….. They need to get up and stop joking around and play cricket. They do have the potential to do much better.
It’s a question of pride the players are waiting on the selectors to reach out to them and vicey versa