West Indies bowed out of the tournament following their 125-run defeat against India in a must-win game at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The batsmen failed to chase down the target after an outstanding effort by the bowlers to restrict India to 268 runs. Skipper Jason Holder admitted that they have been unable to cash on in the crunch situations and have let themselves down.
Need to improve our fielding: Holder
The bowlers did an outstanding led by the skipper himself. Kemar Roach was the pick of the bowlers returning with three while Jason Holder and Sheldon Cottrell returned with two apiece. Virat Kohli scored a fine half-century before the West Indies bowlers bounced back in the middle overs. They picked three quick wickets, but MS Dhoni (57*) and Hardik Pandya (46) took them to a challenging total.
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While it looked par score, India bowlers made the life of the West Indies batters tough. They also lacked application and couldn’t resist the brilliance of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. Shami picked four while Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal claimed two each to bowl out West Indies for 143 runs, thus registering a 125-run victory. Jason Holder admitted that they thought they were in the game at the halfway stage but has let themselves down. He also rued poor fielding as one of the main reasons for their poor outcome in the World Cup.
“At the half-way point, we thought we could get there, but obviously, it was more than what we needed to do. We’ve let ourselves down significantly. We’ve dropped a few chances in the field, and we could have taken our chances,” Holder said at the end of the match.
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However, Jason Holder admitted that they had a lot of positives from this game. He also praised his bowlers who have come out with a big heart in every game and produced good performances. But Holder feels they need to improve their fielding in the coming times.
“Still a lot of positives, Kemar Roach was very positive and Sheldon Cottrell as well. We’ve got to finish well. The bowlers have had a reasonable campaign. They gave a big effort in each game. We’ve done a fair job, but fielding definitely has to improve,” he concluded.