After suffering a narrow seven-run defeat against Pakistan in the second T20I, West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard said that he is impressed with the fight shown by his team.
A half-century from Pakistan captain Babar Azam and skillful bowling by off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez guided visitors to a thrilling seven-run win over West Indies. The win means Pakistan lead the four-match series 1-0, with the first match ending in no result due to rain.
"Thought 170-180 would have been too much and the way the guys came back in the last 10 overs with the ball and be consistent in that part of the game, was good. There was moisture and swing, grip for the bowlers, they (Pakistan) used the angles and used the wicket a lot more. Those Hafeez 4 overs for about 5 or 6 runs and you look back at that and say that we could have knocked a few singles here and there," Pollard told the host broadcaster at the post-match presentation.
"Having said that the guys really fought through and yes we came out on the losing end but the fight we kept through, that was impressive. The way they (Pakistan) manoeuvred their leg-spinners. I thought it was well done by them and then we had to explode towards the end. There are somethings we see there (during the chase) and we will continue to improve on that," he added.
Further talking about the game, Pollard said: "Will have a lot of intense discussions and try and put your foot forward each and every time. It's all about improvement. For us, someone has to win and someone has to lose and yes we ended up on the losing end today but, all hope is not lost."
Hafeez bowled his most economical spell in the T20Is, giving away just six runs in four overs which included a maiden over and dismissal of Andre Fletcher on the second ball of the innings. He was awarded the best player of the match.
Earlier, after being put into bat, Pakistan managed to score 157 for eight in their 20 overs. Holder and Dwayne Bravo combined to put the brakes on the Pakistan scoring rate. Holder returned the excellent figures of 4-26 while Bravo, claimed 2-24 as the tourists squandered a solid platform provided by Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
( With inputs from ANI )
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