Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has called on Indian players to step up and take responsibility after the side crashed to a debilitating 24-run loss against West Indies in the fourth T20I on Wednesday in Hyderabad. Chasing an enormous target of 248, India started off brilliantly, with Sanju Samson firing on all cylinders and plundering 56 off 23.
However, India’s middle-order stumbled midway and collapsed in a remarkable fashion, failing to capitalise on a tremendous start. West Indies, on the other side, were very resolute in their spell, bowling India out for 223 in 19.3 overs, with Keemo Paul playing a major role with a five-wicket haul.
“The first thing this Indian side needs to improve is how they chase. The batting unit needs to show more responsibility. If the batters don’t take responsibility, this Indian side will not succeed," Gavaskar said on JioStar.
“On a pitch like this, with the dew coming in, you have to show the kind of dominance with the bat that a back-to-back T20 World Cup-winning team should, but that was missing completely in this game," Gavaskar added.
Noticeably, India staged a brief fightback on the back of Tilak Varma and Nitish Reddy’s spectacular knocks of 43 and 41, respectively, but by then things had gone out of India’s hands, with both Tilak and Reddy succumbing to the pressure.
Meanwhile, the likes of Abhishek, Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir could not rise to the occasion after being dismissed cheaply. Now, India will head into the fifth T20I with the thought of turning the tables because they have not registered a T20I series at home since 2019.