After being 0-2 down in the T20I series against West Indies, the Indian team produced an emphatic turnaround to make it 2-2 by the end of the 4th T20I. But, the 5th T20I loss put across the same challenges within the team that had seen them lose the first two matches. In what was a rare T20I series defeat for the Indians, critics have come out all guns blazing, hitting out the manner in which the Indian team conducted their on-field affairs. Venkatesh Prasad, a staunch critic of the team in recent times, ripped into Hardik Pandya’s men, suggesting they are living in an illusion.
West Indies won the five-match series 3-2 with opener Brandon King’s swashbuckling 85 not out off 55 balls paving the way for a 18-over cakewalk. Prasad, in a fiery post on X (formerly Twitter), said that the team had no hunger or fire.
“India has been a very very ordinary limited overs side for sometime now. They have been humbled by a West Indies side that failed to qualify for the T20 WC few months back. We had also lost to Ban in the ODI series. Hope they introspect instead of making silly statements,” Prasad tweeted.
“Not just 50 overs, West Indies had failed to qualify for the T20 World cup last Oct- Nov as well. It pains to see India perform poorly and brush it under the carpet, under the garb of process. That hunger, fire is missing and we live in an illusion,” he further said in response to a fan.
Within 24 hours of producing a batting master-class on a featherbed, the Indian batters, save Suryakumar Yadav’s scratchy yet effective 61 off 45 balls, posted a sub-par score of 165 for nine after opting to bat on a used track that had become slower.
On a pitch where stroke-making wasn’t an easy proposition, Surya had to curb his flair a bit but still had enough firepower in his arsenal to hit four fours and three sixes during his knock.
In reply, India’s nemesis Nicholas Pooran (47 not out off 35 balls) looked way more fluent but was overshadowed by opener King as they added 107 runs for the second wicket to put West Indies on course despite three weather-related interruptions.
