India suffered their first-ever five-match T20I series loss to West Indies when Hardik Pandya's men went down in the fifth match of the series on Sunday, August 13. The Men in Blue were made to grind hard by Windies in the series and they could not bounce back after being 0-2 down despite some strong efforts. Brandon King and Romario Shepherd powered West Indies to a thumping eight-wicket win in the fifth T20I in Lauderhill to win the series 3-2. India's T20I captain opened up on the loss, citing these games were focused on learning and not having a desired result does not matter all the time.
India could post only 165 in the first innings after winning the toss on a slow-looking track. The batters were tested and apart from Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma's cameo, none of them could make a big impact. Pandya defended his toss decision, saying the team needs to challenge itself. "I believe that as a group we have to challenge ourselves. All these games are the games where we have to learn. We have spoken as a group that whenever we can take the hard way we will," the T20I captain said after the loss. "In hindsight, one series here or there doesn't matter but the commitment to the goal is important," he added.
'Losing is good at times': Pandya
The T20 World Cup in 2024 will be played in West Indies and USA but Pandya is not looking that far at the moment. "It's a long way. We have the ODI World Cup coming up. And sometimes losing is good. You get to learn a lot. And a special mention for all the boys. They showed great character. Winning and losing is a part of the process and we are going to make sure we learn from that," the all-rounder said.
However, the skipper was in full praise to youngsters Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal who made their debuts at the Windies tour. "They've got heart.
That is something that's very important in international cricket. Every youngster coming through has belief. That's something I see very often now. Kudos to them, they came out and took responsibility. I can't be happier as a captain," he concluded.
