Sunil Gavaskar said India’s bowlers, not the pitch, were responsible for the defeat to the West Indies in the fourth T20I
India were bowled out for 223 in 19.3 overs while chasing 248 on Wednesday
Gavaskar said the West Indies also corrected their lengths after early errors and found success with yorkers and the right length
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar refused to blame the pitch following India’s defeat to the West Indies in the fourth T20I on Wednesday.
India were bowled out for 223 in 19.3 overs while chasing a daunting 248-run target. Pointing to the bowlers' failure to hit their marks, the former opener argued that players cannot use surface conditions as an excuse when they fail to execute basic plans.
Speaking on JioHotstar, Gavaskar highlighted that even the West Indies attack struggled initially before adjusting their lengths and executing yorkers effectively.
“Even the West Indies bowlers made quite a few errors while the partnership between Tilak Varma and Nitish was developing; they bowled too many full tosses. We often talk about pitches and blame them, claiming they offer no assistance to the bowlers. But if you bowl full tosses, the pitch isn't to blame,” Gavaskar said.
“Only later, when they bowled the right length or delivered yorkers, did they find success,” he added.
'We Didn't Execute'
India's T20I captain Shreyas Iyer echoed the same thought in his post-match interaction with the broadcasters.
Iyer stressed the need for better execution heading into the series decider at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
"It all started with bowling. We didn't execute our line and length well and, at the end of the day, when you're chasing 250, you have to go about it in a certain pattern," Iyer said.
"The approach is going to be the same, and I feel that going forward, we don't have to think too much about our bowling. It's all about execution and having a fresh mindset, where you come out on a given day, execute your plans and seize the moment," he added.
"I liked our approach during the chase, but we were unfortunate that we couldn't execute our plans with the ball, and that's where we fell a bit short."
India’s bowling woes have come to the fore after conceding 200-plus runs in three consecutive innings against the West Indies, highlighting a persistent failure to execute plans under pressure.
The Windies also pulled off their highest successful T20I run-chase against India in the second match, further exposing the bowling attack's defensive vulnerabilities.
