India secured a 14-run win over the West Indies in the third T20I of the five-match series at Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday, October 11.
Delving into the details of the game, India was tasked with batting first and they posted a whopping total of 223 in 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma (69 off 30) was the top scorer. Roston Chase, Shamar Joseph and Shamar Springer scalped two wickets apiece.
In response, West Indies could score 209/7 in 20 overs. Kamil Pooran (42), Shimron Hetmyer (43) and Shamar Springer (35*) were the top scorers. On that note, let’s take a look at who said what after INDvWI, 3rd T20I.
Arshdeep Singh, Player of the Match:
[Did the dry conditions help your bowling today?] It’s pretty nice. The ball was reversing a bit, and it’s always good fun to bowl at death with the ball reversing a little, and it’s always nice (to bowl with) the dew as well. But couldn’t do well in the last game, so wanted to do good for the team this time and got the right result. [Being a leader of the attack, how do you handle responsibility after a difficult outing?] I mean, there’s no such thing as the leader or the senior in the team. The environment is very chilled right now and we’re just enjoying each other’s success, and whenever someone’s having a bad day, we always make sure that we put our shoulders around them and tell them that they are an integral part of the team. And as an international cricketer, you are bound to have good days and bad days. As long as you’re level-headed, you’ll always come back and do well.
[How do you maintain your composure in T20 cricket?] I genuinely love it. I personally love it whenever the batsmen go harder to in the starting and in the death over as well. It’s a good challenge, it’s good fun, and that’s when you get to test yourself, test your skills and test your mental strength as well in that phase of the game. So it’s good fun. [How do you adapt to changing conditions and schedules?] The main focus is to just come early, bowl a bit with the new ball, with the old ball, and just sharpen your skills as much as you can. And then, as you said, the schedule is always tight. You just have to adapt quickly. The team which adapts quickly is mostly the team that gets on the right side of the result. So as a team we just try to adapt and play according to the conditions.
Shreyas Iyer, Indian captain:
[What a difference a dry ball makes, even for a captain. Because you sometimes set a field and the bowlers are not confident at the back of your mark with a wet ball. How was it tonight?] Well, it was wonderful, honestly. When the bowlers were up the mark, they were pretty confident in terms of what they want to execute, and the clarity was very much visible when I was interacting with them. So they were decisive in their execution, and I also feel that when I was passing on the ball to them, each and every one, they were ready to take on the challenge, and that’s what we want.
[West Indies only lost by 14 runs. What did you make of the start that you had and the fact that it went away two matches in a row?] That was a phenomenal start, what we got from Abhishek – those crucial runs in the powerplay. We know what he can offer and then Ishan coming in and taking on the bowlers. He has been simply remarkable in the last couple of months. And then in between also, we never let West Indies take on the charge, even though we kept on losing wickets. We steadied the ship in the middle order as well. That took us to a commendable total of 223. Even Prince coming and playing that cameo at the end, those were useful runs I felt. And yeah, with West Indies team, I personally feel that you cannot take them lightly because you know there are a lot of game changers in the team, and anyone can win the match. So yeah, we got to stay positive throughout the game and see to it that we are not complacent at any point of time. [Hyderabad and Bengaluru can be very high-scoring as well!] Yes, absolutely. Both of them are high-scoring grounds, but it’s important that we stick to our process and the routines which we have been following, and also see to it that we are offensive enough in our approach and the attitude is top-notch.
Shai Hope, West Indies captain:
[What went wrong?] So many things you could put your finger on, to be honest, but it’s another cricket game where it’s very small margins. Little things that you pick at, they could be defining moments, whether you get over the line as the winning team as opposed to the losing one. So, probably with the ball, could have executed a little bit better, maybe use the surface a bit more, and a few runs we probably let through on the boundaries. Those small little margins could be the deciding factor at the back end of any game. [On WI clawing their way back with the ball after India’s rapid start] That’s a fair statement. I believe the way we came back into the game was very commendable, especially from the outset. When you look at that batting partnership they were building, it was going to be a very dangerous one. We got some wickets, with Roston doing what he does best, and the guys really finished well to give us a good chance of chasing down that score.
[Did another failure up top hurt West Indies today?] Yeah, for sure. Once you lose wickets in the powerplay, it’s always going to put you back a bit. Sometimes you still got to find that partnership at the top. If you get that foundation laid, it’s always going to be a lot easier for the guys coming in the middle period. But can’t really put your finger too much on one or two guys. You know, it’s a collective batting unit, and it just didn’t happen for us today. But, like I earlier said, very small margins, 14 runs, you never know, here or there, we could be victorious again. [How much did the dry conditions affect batting in the second innings?] It did play a part, because I felt as though when Arshdeep was bowling his second and third over I think it was, the ball actually started to tail a bit more. So usually with the drier conditions, you get a bit more variations from that side of things. And yeah, it’s always going to be a lot more difficult when it’s a bit drier, especially from a batting standpoint. And they bowled really well. You’ve got to give credit to the Indian bowlers. They bowled their yorkers, they showed us how to really execute some yorkers today. And yeah, you’ve got to give them credit today.
