‘Show more responsibility’: Gavaskar’s message for India’s batters after 4th T20I loss to WI

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has urged India’s batters to take “more responsibility” after the team suffered a 24-run defeat against the West Indies in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad on Wednesday. India failed to chase down the target of 248 runs and were bowled out for 223, setting up a series decider in the fifth and final match.

“The first thing this Indian side needs to improve is how they chase. The batting unit needs to show more responsibility. If the batters don’t take responsibility, this Indian side will not succeed,” Gavaskar said during a post-match show on JioStar.

“On a pitch like this, with the dew coming in, you have to show the kind of dominance with the bat that a back-to-back T20 World Cup winning team should, but that was missing completely in this game.”

Batting first, the West Indies posted a massive total of 247/3, thanks to Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 off 50 balls. Sherfane Rutherford also remained not out on 49 off 26 deliveries, while Shimron Hetmyer contributed 33 off just 12 balls.

India got off to a strong start in the chase, with Sanju Samson scoring 56 off 23 balls and Abhishek Sharma adding 29 runs. The hosts reached 60 without losing a wicket in four overs, but the innings soon lost momentum as wickets fell at regular intervals.

Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy were the only Indian batters who came close to scoring half-centuries, while Keemo Paul picked up five wickets to help the West Indies secure the win.

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Gavaskar felt India failed to make the most of the platform provided by Samson.

“Sanju gave India a great start, but the rest of the batters didn’t capitalise at all. Abhishek Sharma played a poor knock, which is not acceptable by his standards. Ishan Kishan fell right into Keemo Paul’s trap, and Shreyas Iyer has not got going since his hundred,” he said.

The former India captain also defended the bowling attack, pointing out that several bowlers were still gaining experience at the international level.

“Yes, I know the bowling has been poor, but these bowlers are not experienced. They are new to international cricket, and they will need to get hit for boundaries, otherwise they will not learn,” he said.

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Meanwhile, former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara praised Hope for his match-winning century and explained how the West Indies captain managed to score quickly without taking unnecessary risks.

“Hope has been a problem for India in this white-ball series and what stands out is that he does not rely on blind slogging. He backs his natural game and picks his gaps. That is why he scores so quickly without taking too many risks. He’s also a good player of spin because this pitch was a little challenging for the batters to dominate the spinners. But he had a lot of clarity. When a batter has that kind of control, it becomes very difficult for the bowlers to build pressure,” said Pujara.