T20 WC: Bowlers Were Exceptional, Top-order Failure Cost Us, Says USA's Patel After India Defeat

T20 WC: Bowlers were exceptional, top-order failure cost us, says USA's Patel after India defeat (Image Source: IANS)

T20 World Cup: The USA captain Monank Patel was effusive in praise for his bowlers for their performance, but said his top-order batters could not perform and perished to soft dismissals as they suffered a 29-run defeat against defending champions India in their opening match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Mumbai on Saturday.

With Shadley van Schalkwyk claiming 4-25, including an initial burst of 3-13, the USA had India on the ropes at 77/6. But they could not press home the advantage, and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav hammered an unbeaten 894 off 49 balls to help the hosts post 161/9 in 20 overs.

Chasing a modest total, the USA lost three early wickets for 13 runs but had recovered to 71 for three thanks to Milind Kumar (34) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37) before their innings unravelled and then were eventually restricted to 132/8 in 20 overs.

Monank said his bowlers did a great job to reduce India to 77/6 but blamed dropped catches for not restricting the hosts to 130 or so.

"I thought our bowlers did a good job. Pitch was not easy to read. The variations they bowled in the powerplay...we kept them quiet for a while. We dropped catches, and that cost us. At one stage, we felt we could restrict them to 130," said the USA captain.

Monank said his bowlers did a great job to reduce India to 77/6 but blamed dropped catches for not restricting the hosts to 130 or so.

"I thought 160 was a good score (to chase on this wicket). The top three could not perform, soft dismissals. The intent was a bit missing because we lost wickets initially. Lots of learning and positives from this game. The way we handled the pressure, the crowd, we managed it really well. We made a few mistakes, but we will try to come back stronger," he added.

Article Source: IANS