West Indies stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran has backed Andre Russell’s decision to face all six deliveries of the final over of Wednesday’s T20 match that was bowled by Mitchell Starc and from which the home side required 11 runs to take a 4-0 lead in the series.
Chasing 189-6 set by Australia, the West Indies lost by four runs as Russell turned down five opportunities to rotate the strike with Hayden Walsh Jr. He managed to hit the final delivery for six but by then victory was beyond the West Indies.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Pooran said Russell made the right decision.
“I thought, and the team thought, that was the best decision for the team. Andre batting six balls, that’s two hits. He is a six-hitter, if he had hit two sixes then everyone would say that’s the best decision. We backed him 100 per cent. We believe he did the right thing,” Pooran said.
Asked if it would not have been better to rotate the strike and reduce the ask as the number of balls dwindled, Pooran said it was not that simple.
“It’s easy to say we could have got four singles (from the first four balls of the over). When Russell takes a single off the first ball that means Hayden Walsh is on strike, so we need him to get a single, so it’s difficult,” he said.
“That’s why in the last over, it’s pressure. A lot of guys don’t know how to cope under pressure. He (Walsh) could have gotten out. Starc is a world-class bowler at the top of his game. He was getting the ball to reverse swing and our best hitter in the game right now is batting, so we back him 100 per cent to hit two boundaries or two sixes to carry us over the line. And we will do it again in the future.”
The West Indies will face Australia in the final match of the series on Saturday night.
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Dr. Donovan Bennett defeats Billy Heaven in JCA Presidential election
Dr. Donovan Bennett is the new president of the Jamaica Cricket Association after defeating Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven at Thursday’s elections at the 20th JCA Annual General Meeting held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.
Bennett, who served as JCA vice-president for 11 years, is set for his first term at the helm after a 67-30 victory.
Heaven served as JCA president for the last 10 years and was seeking a fifth term.
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.
The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.
Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.
Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.
Data Debrief
Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.
He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.
IPL: Kohli and Patidar star to snap RCB's losing streak
Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a six-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League by claiming a convincing 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Bengaluru still sit bottom of the standings, but have reason to cheer after Virat Kohli's 51 and Rajat Patidar's 20-ball 50 got the job done in style on Thursday.
Cameron Green chipped in with a useful 37 as RCB reached 206-7 from their 20 overs, and the Australian then took 2-12 with the ball as the Sunrisers failed to get going.
Shahbaz Ahmed top scored for Sunrisers with 40 not-out, but it was not enough as they only mustered 171-8 in response.
Data Debrief
Thursday's match marked Jaydev Unadkat's 100th in the IPL, and though he finished on the losing side, he did take a memorable three-for to celebrate the occasion.
It was Unadkat who dismissed Kohli, Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, finishing with figures of 3-30.
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