India vs West Indies: ‘I can finally breathe now’, says Nicholas Pooran after 2nd T20I win – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran was relieved after his side won the second T20I against India by five wickets on Monday.

Pooran-led West Indies had been clean swept in the ODI series, despite the absence of first-choice Indian players. India also had a winning start to the T20I series, winning the first match by 68 runs.

However, West Indies were able to bounce back quite well and levelled the five-match series 1-1. West Indies were able to decimate India for a below-par total of 138 in the first innings. They also started the chase well but choked in the middle overs as wickets kept falling.

The hosts ultimately managed to chase the total down with four balls to spare. Pooran said that he was happy to cross the finish line.

“I can finally breathe now. It has been a tough summer, we have lost a couple of close games. Happy to cross the line. Bowlers were fantastic,” the Caribbean skipper said.

“Bowlers were fantastic. Obed, McCoy. They used the pitch, the conditions, and the wind well. The batters got us off to a good start, and even though we stumbled, a win is a win in the end,” he added.

This win was more important after West Indies have had a string of ODI losses against India and Bangladesh.

Obed McCoy ended up with his career-best figures of 6/17 and also registered the best T20I figures for West Indies. He was the wrecker-in-chief for demolishing the Indian batting unit.

Brandon King, on the other hand, scored a fine half-century and ensured that they do not fail to chase down the easy-looking target.

“King batted really well, thought he should win the game for us, but he will learn from this. Thomas returned from an injury and came trumps in his home ground. McCoy is a bit of a freak, and we need to deal with him, but today he was excellent. Was smart bowling to Dinesh Karthik, lovely to have him in the team. Good to have the left-arm option as well,” Pooran said when asked about their performances.

Karthik was not allowed to free his arms as he was suffocated for runs and got out for seven runs after 13 balls.

Pooran also admitted that he alongside Shimron Hetmyer had a poor outing with the bat. “It didn’t work out for myself and Hetmyer today, but we want to continue taking responsibility.”

The hosts will take on Men in Blue again on Tuesday in the third T20I as they play the two games within 24 hours.

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