"Team India looks broken already" - Fans lash out after Men in Blue collapse to a series defeat against West Indies
Team India suffered their first T20I series loss since 2012 following an eight-wicket defeat in the fifth T20I against the West Indies. The series was well poised at 2-2 ahead of the final contest at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida, on Sunday, August 13.
Electing to bat first in the series decider, Team India failed to find rhythm and stuttered to 165-9 in the first innings. Suryakumar Yadav continued his fine run of form in T20s with yet another fifty, but could not get support from the other batters.
Team India failed to turn up with the ball as West Indies cruised during the run chase despite the fall of an early wicket. Brandon King remained unbeaten on 85 runs off 55 deliveries and put on 107 runs for the second wicket with Nicholas Pooran.
The fans highlighted Hardik Pandya's dodgy captaincy and the poor performances of several players, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shubman Gill in particular, on social media. Here are some of the most notable reactions on Twitter:
"We lost the momentum when I came in" - Hardik Pandya on where Team India lost the plot
The Men in Blue could not assert their dominance on the tour of the Caribbean as they hoped they would. They emerged winners in the two-match Test series by a 1-0 margin, had to scrape through in the ODI series to claim a 2-1 result and ended up on the losing side in the shortest format.
The 3-2 series loss is not the ideal start to Team India's plans for the 2024 T20 World Cup, despite several big names being rested. Hardik Pandya, who scored 14 runs off 18 deliveries and finished with figures of 0-32 off three overs, said during the post-match presentation:
"We lost the momentum when I came in and couldn't capitalize on the situation. I believe we gonna challenge ourselves. We try to get better. In hindsight, it is fine. We don't need to explain much. I know how the boys are within the group. We have enough time to figure out. Losing is good at times."
The 3-2 loss also marks West Indies' first series triumph over India in a bilateral contest since 2006, across formats.