Follow UsCricket hit an all-time low in the Caribbean when the Men in Maroon didn’t qualify for the prestigious ODI World Cup in India. It was the first time that they failed to qualify for the main event since the inception of the competition. Back in 2019 as well, despite going into the Qualifier stage, the Men in Maroon qualified for the showpiece event.
There was a ripple effect on the health of cricket in the country. Windies were trashed in the Test series and also lost the ODI series 2-1 before the five-match T20I series. It was their chance to shine, and Rovman Powell’s men did exactly that: shone through the adversities. Throughout the five-match series, the Windies were the better side, and it was on display in Florida as well.
After losing two matches in a row, the pressure was on the Windies to give a reply, and they had things aligned for them when they were chasing 166. Brandon King set the early momentum with a 55-ball 85 and joined hands with Nicholas Pooran, who scored a 35-ball 47 to help Windies chase the total down with two overs to spare.
Powell, in the post-match presentation, insisted that ‘adjectives were inadequate’ for their feelings and insisted that there was a talk in the dressing room after the loss in the fourth T20I, where they were thoroughly beaten.
“It's difficult to put words to. Adjectives are inadequate for our feelings. It's a big series. It's a very big series for us to beat India at home with everything going on. Last night after we got defeated badly we sat down and talked,” Powell said in the post-match presentation.
“We are not just playing to put smiles on our faces but for the people . A lot of credit to the coaching staff and also the chairman. Yesterday we could have easily panicked but they sat me down and we talked about where we could go. I am big on individual performances and when individuals do well it helps the teams,” he added.
Whilst all the credit goes to Pooran, who was arguably the biggest influencing factor in the series, Powell also pointed out that a lot of credit has to go to the bowling unit. Akeal Hosein’s 2/24, and Jason Holder’s 2/36 all played second-fiddle to Romario Shepherd’s 4/31, a spell that ultimately broke India’s backbone.
“Pooran is a big performer. We asked him to stand up for three out of fives games. Credit has to be given to the bowling unit as well for trying to control such a powerful Indian team. A lot of credit to the fans. When chips are down they rallied around us and supported us. Not just physically but social media as well,” Powell added.
Shepherd, who won the Player of the Match, insisted that he is hitting his areas well and talked about his plans against two of India's most aggressive batters - Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson.
"Especially to Sanju (Samson), the plan was to hit the wicket and to Surya (Yadav) to get him to hit straight down the ground. It meant a lot to us especially because we've been going through some hard times in the past couple of months so to win against a team like India it means a lot for us and the fans," Shepherd insisted.