Dejected at missing out on his maiden ODI ton for the “24th time” in 93 matches, West Indies opener Devon Smith said the Indian bowlers came back brilliantly to halt the visitors, who were cruising along at one stage in the second ODI here.
Smith made a run-a-ball 97 before being cleaned up by Mohammed Shami (4-36) as the West Indies’ 264-run chase derailed from 170 for two to 215 all out in 46.3 overs. Smith could not hide his disappointment but praised the Indian bowlers for their good showing.
“I am of course disappointed at missing out on another century. Twenty fourth time I have fallen short of a ton, so it really hurts. They (India) bowled really well. We were cruising at one point and the Indian bowlers just got wickets after that,” said Smith in the post-match press conference on Saturday. “I think we bowled well but it all came down to some good bowling by the Indians. There is something that we can learn from it and move forward,” he added.
Smith stitched a crucial 72-run second-wicket partnership with Kieron Pollard (40) before Man of the Match Shami, Amit Mishra (2-40) and Ravindra Jadeja (3-44) started the rot. On being quizzed about opting for a cautious approach against Mishra, Smith totally disagreed.