Aggressive batting let us down: Allen
Kolkata: West Indies batsmen were reckless and paid the price for that by losing to India by five wickets in the T20 series opener here on Sunday, said debutant Fabian Allen.
Allen made 27 from 20 balls to take the total to 109/8 after chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav (3/13) and debutant Krunal Pandya (1/15) spun a web around the tourists, reducing them to 87/8 in 18 overs.
The 23-year-old said it was not the best of wickets and a score of 150 would have made the game competitive.
“It was not the best wicket but we had to be patient, should have played the ball on merit. We were too aggressive; I think we could have easily got 150 or 140, that was the target we were looking for,” Allen said at the post-match news conference on Sunday.
“It’s one of those days. We will look to come back in the next game. I hope we learn from this and take it to our next game,” he said ahead of their second T20I in Lucknow Tuesday.
Asked if the team missed star all-rounder Andre Russell who, despite being named in the squad, pulled out of the series on the eve of the opening game due to injury, Allen said: “Of course, he is a crucial player in the team, a leader. Chris Gayle was also not around. Young players tried to contribute as much they can.”
Allen said they would look to apply themselves better in the next outing.
“Anything is possible in T20 games. It does not matter how many wickets you lose… We could have executed efficiently. It was our first game, we will try to execute our plan and play the ball on merit,” he expressed.
“In T20s, you have to expect anything. It was one of those days. We will just look to bounce back in the next game,” Allen added.
