Indore: West Indies all-rounder Shamar Springer said that the lack of dew and disciplined bowling by India’s bowlers on a low-bounce pitch were the difference as the visitors lost by 14 runs in the third T20I held at the Holkar Stadium on Sunday night.
Chasing 224, the West Indies scored only 209/7, though Springer made an unbeaten 35, including hitting Axar Patel for three fours and a six in the final over. “I thought the Indian boys executed really well today in the middle, kind of stifled us and eventually left us with too many runs at the end. We thought the wicket would play a little better.
“The ball was keeping a little lower than we anticipated. We also thought there might be some dew in the second innings, but there wasn’t really that much dew. And as I said, the nature of the wicket was a little low (and) the Indian bowlers used the wicket a lot better than us,” said Springer in the post-game press conference.
India had earlier posted a formidable 223, thanks mainly to Abhishek Sharma’s 69 off 30 balls and his 108-run stand for the second wicket with Ishan Kishan (37 off 18 balls). “He’s a world-class player. Kudos to him, for sure. But I guess our Plan B was to just be as defensive as possible and try to make him get singles and twos rather than boundaries. Nothing too extravagant.
“It was just a matter of trying to pull him back and be as defensive as possible. That was really it. Because there’s not much control you could really have here. I mean, the wickets are so good and those players are world-class players. They’re the best for a reason. So, there’s not really much you could really do besides be defensive,” added Springer.
Abhishek’s innings got off to a cautious start against off-spinner Roston Chase, who accounted for the left-handed opener in the first two T20Is. Springer praised Chase’s contribution, saying he had been an unsung hero in the Caribbean setup for the past two years.
“He’s been underrated so far, but in our dressing room, we really appreciate what he brings to the table. He brings that control and calmness to our team. He’s the X-factor so far,” he concluded.