Batters need to take more responsibility and support bowlers: Hardik Pandya

The nine-wicket win over West Indies in the fourth T20I left Hardik Pandya a pleased man and the Indian captain on Saturday said that the batting unit needs to take more responsibility going forward to support the bowlers. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal compiled ebullient fifties as India levelled the five-match series 2-2.

But for Pandya it was just the beginning and urged the batters to be ready for bigger situations.

“Gill and Jaiswal were brilliant. There is no doubt over their skillset. They just needed to spend some time between the wickets. Going forward we have to take more responsibility as a batting group and support the bowlers. I’ve always believed bowlers win matches,” said Pandya after the match.

India were trailing 0-2 after the first two matches, but won the third and fourth games to roar back into the series.

Pandya was understandably elated by the team’s effort. “We lost two games but in the first game it was our own errors. We were cruising and in the last four overs we slipped. We spoke about how these kinds of games show our character.

“The boys took it (defeats) in their stride. The two games (after the first two defeats) we played reflected that we pulled up our socks and played some good cricket,” he added.

Jaiswal, who struck an unbeaten 84 off 51 balls, was adjudged man of the match, and the left-hander said he batted as per the team’s needs. It was Jaiswal’s maiden fifty in the T20Is. He had also made a hundred on his Test debut against the West Indies on this tour.

“I just try to play how the team needs and how I can express myself. I think of how quickly I can score and how many runs I can get in the power play. Of course, reading the wicket and the situation (matters), but my intent is always to score runs,” said Jaiswal.

He also thanked the team members for their whole-hearted support.

‘I would love to thank Hardik bhai and the support staff, the way they have spoken had an impact. I just like to go out and enjoy myself,’ he said.

West Indies captain Rovman Powell said batsmen need to stick to their plans and play India spinners better.

‘We didn’t stick to our plans. We always knew this series would come down to how we play against spinners (of India),’ said Powell.