We lost but put up a good fight: Rahul

Lauderhill (US), August 28 

His unbeaten hundred could not help India get over the line but Indian batsman Lokesh Rahul said the way they fought till the last ball and almost pulled off what would have been a world-record chase was a huge positive to draw from the one-run loss against West Indies on Saturday.

Rahul scored his maiden T20I ton off 46 balls and stayed unbeaten on 110, striking 12 fours and five sixes in the process. “It is very disappointing to be on the losing side but what’s good to see is that we did not give up half way through,” Rahul said after India’s epic chase of 246 fell short just by a run.

“West Indies had put up a big total.  In the dressing room, we spoke about taking the game as deep as we could. And the way everyone approached the innings was good to see.”

Speaking of his partnership with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (43) and their failure to take India home despite needing just eight runs off the last over, Rahul said it was disappointing.

“As soon as he came in, I knew that he will make me run a lot. I was already tired by the time he came, but he kept on pushing me. We just kept things simple out there,” he said.

“He said that even if we got 11-12 runs till the sixteenth over, it was ok and we could go big in the last couple of overs. That was the plan and we just kept hitting well, kept connecting. Unfortunately, it was one of those days when the game could’ve gone anywhere.” 

Dhoni happy with bowlers 

They were hammered all over the park but Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels his bowlers were not all that bad on what was a “batters’ paradise”. “We need to bowl better in the first six overs. In this game, we gave away too many runs in the first 12 overs. I was happy about how we restricted them in the last eight, that’s something we have been struggling with consistently,” said Dhoni.

“Our bowlers finished off well; there was point when we were looking at a 270 plus total.” Dhoni, however, said his bowlers would need to adjust quickly and reassess their game plan. “As a bowler, you have to assess the conditions and change your game plan accordingly,” he said. — PTI