Delhi: After the 8-wicket defeat in the first ODI of the series against India on Sunday, West Indies captain Shai Hope spoke openly about his team's mistakes. Despite scoring 295 runs, the visiting team could not hold on to the match. India achieved the target in just 41.4 overs thanks to the brilliant centuries of great batsman Virat Kohli and captain Shubman Gill.

Broken innings after a great start

West Indies had a good start by batting first. John Campbell and Justin Greaves put the team in a strong position by adding 135 runs for the first wicket. Greaves played a brilliant inning of 101 runs, while Campbell scored 62 runs. However, after this the team's run pace slowed down and due to continuous loss of wickets in the middle overs, the opportunity to make a big score was lost.

Shai Hope told why she lost

After the match, Shai Hope said, “We should definitely have scored more runs. On a pitch with good batting like India, you have to take full advantage of the good platform given to you. I think we fell short by about 60 to 80 runs. When you defend a target of around 290, everything should be in your favor in bowling as well.”

The team slipped in the middle overs

Praising the opening partnership, Hope said, “The openers gave us a great start and created a strong base, but we could not maintain our rhythm in the middle overs. That is why it became difficult to reach a competitive score in the end. We have to make better use of the important opportunities. If a few more runs had been scored, then perhaps the picture of the match could have been different.”

Missing the catch also had an impact

Hope also mentioned the Indian batsmen missing some important catches. He said, “We got opportunities on the field. Shubman Gill could have been out on 11 runs and Virat Kohli could have been out on 125 runs, so it is difficult to say what would have happened with 290 runs. We have to have confidence in our score and learn from these mistakes and perform better in the next match.”

It is noteworthy that the second match of the three-match ODI series will be held on September 30 at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. By winning this match, the blue jersey team would like to take an unassailable lead in the series, while the visiting team will be eyeing to open its account and register its first win.