West Indies top-order batsman Amir Jangoo has acknowledged the team’s performance in the fourth One Day International against New Zealand was not good enough, as the visitors took an unassailable 3-1 series lead with one game remaining.
Playing during the emotionally charged encounter, a thrilling low-scoring encounter at Kensington Oval — two days after the death of cricket icon and National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers — New Zealand defeated the regional side by one wicket.
Gudakesh Motie took five for 47 for West Indies, as the visitors who were chasing what looked to be a below par target of 189 for victory, lost wickets steadily throughout their innings before holding on to reach 189 for nine, as Man-Of-The-Match Mitchell Santner was left unbeaten on 34 off 56 balls.
Earlier in their innings, Mark Chapman top scored with 80, while Michael Bracewell added 32.
When West Indies were sent into bat on a wicket offering assistance to the bowlers, Jagoo top scored with 51 from 73 balls, while Motie added 41 from 56 and opener Ackeem Auguste 33 from 50 deliveries.
Justin Greaves and Ackeem Auguste collided as a match-winning catch went down. (Photo Credit: Getty Images/AFP)
Matthew Fisher took three for 40, while there were two wickets apiece for Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner. Jangoo, while pleased with his personal performance, would have preferred for it to come in a winning cause.
“Of course it was a very difficult result and a tough pill to swallow but yeah it just wasn’t good enough on the day, so (we) just have to keep going.”
With key World Cup qualification points still up for grabs despite the series defeat, Jangoo says West Indies will hopefully end the series on a high.
“We have one more game of cricket to play and we got some amazing support from the Bajan supporters. I think we need to come out, play with pride and get a win.
“It’s pretty difficult because we know how much was at stake in this game, it’s all about understanding where we went wrong. We know the quality we have in our team,” Jangoo added.
Reflecting on the performance of the team’s bowlers, Jangoo noted that their quality and ability is always clear. “They gave heart and soul for the team, it’s so good to see Gudakesh get those five wickets, Alzarri (Joseph) bowled with some serious pace. The type of quality that this team has, we don’t deserve to be going to the qualifiers, but that’s the position that we are in.”
Speaking following the game, West Indies captain Shai Hope described batting first in the Caribbean as “always a challenge”, but conceded his team needs to adapt to challenges better.
“I still feel as though we need to apply ourselves a lot better. We’re still not really understanding and adapting to the conditions as fast as we should. I just believe that as elite batters that we want to call ourselves, guys who’ve been playing for quite some time, we still need to show a bit more impetus, especially at the top.
“We still need to take more responsibility, myself included. But yeah, it’s definitely not a 180 surface. It’s still challenging here at Kensington; we still gave the New Zealanders a fight. But 180 is not going to be enough when you’re playing against the second-best team in the world,” he asserted.
The final match of the series gets underway at Kensington Oval on Tuesday.
