India Under-19 skipper Ishan Kishan believes his side’s shortcomings on the field was to blame for the 5-wicket defeat against West Indies in the final of the U-19 World Cup earlier today.
Heading into the final as outright favourites, Alzarri Joseph ran through the Indian top order picking up three early wickets and were not able to recover at any point of time despite a fighting half-century by Sarfaraz Ahmed. Though India put up a great fight defending a score of 145, in the end, it was too less a target to defend as West Indies claimed their first Under-19 World Cup trophy.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kishan said that the result could well have been otherwise had India held on to the chances that came their way.
"Many of the batsmen and bowlers played well, and this will help them after Bangladesh. But I just felt that we should have done better in this game, especially the fielding," said the 17-year-old. "The bowlers were bowling in the right areas. Even our fielding was good to begin with, but then we dropped some of the catches which were very crucial and missed run outs also."
Kishan, however, admitted that it was always going to be an uphill after the terrible start they had after being put into bat.
"It was difficult to bat on early but we are used to these conditions, so I can't have an excuse of having batted first. We lost a few early wickets," a disappointed Kishan said.
We hope to take West Indies back to the top where it belongs, says MoM Keacy Carty
West Indies skipper Shimron Hetmyer meanwhile was ecstatic about his side’s unexpected triumph and had special praise for Man of the Match Keacy Carty and Keemo Paul who shared an unbeaten 69-run partnership for the sixth wicket to see West Indies through after reeling at 77-5 at one stage.
"I feel good, words can't explain me how good. The way the guys played showed. We weren't supposed to be champions but we came up to the top," said Hetmyer. "The pacers used the pitch to their advantage, they stood out for us. Carter and Paul are aggressive players, they made the adjustment. They kept a calm head."
Carty also expressed his satisfaction at a personal level as well as a team after his match-winning knock and added that he hoped the victory would be the stepping stone for bringing the glory days back to West Indies cricket.
"We performed very well. It is a very good feeling. I told myself that I can't leave the Under-19 World Cup without a landmark," he said. "We work together, we hope to take West Indies back on top where we were."
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