Post tri-series disaster, Windies skipper calls for introspection

Johannesburg [South Africa], Nov. 26 (ANI): After the West Indies failed to make it to the final of the ongoing tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, skipper Jason Holder believes that each member of the team needs to introspect as to what went wrong in Zimbabwe. West Indies started the series with a win over Sri Lanka but a string of disappointing results negated their chances of making it to the final. Zimbabwe first snatched a final ball tie before the Caribbean fell just one run short of Sri Lanka's 330 earlier this week. Yesterday, the Holder-led side suffered a five-run defeat final round robin match by D/L method to crash out of the tri-series. "Luck wasn't really in our favour in some instances but, out of the things that we could control, I didn't think that we fielded well throughout the entire tournament, consistently," Holder was quoted as saying by Sport24. "It's very disappointing. It's tough to be in this position, after starting the tour so well. At the beginning of the tour we felt we could have won the tournament, and to be in this position right now, we're absolutely gutted." "It's a situation where we really need to look at ourselves in the mirror and see where we fell short, moving forward into the new year, and see how we can come together again and perform better," he added. In the final round-robin match, West Indies allowed Zimbabwe to slip off the hook and post 218 for 8 after having them seven down with less than 100 runs on the board. Crediting the hosts for the way they responded to the situation and the way Sikandar Raza and Tendai Chisoro saved the day with a 91 run unbroken eighth wicket stand, Holder said, "Some credit must be given to Zimbabwe for the way they strategised: [how they went] about their innings, and to get the spinners on early and get through their overs with all this talk of the weather around." The West Indies skipper also highlighted the positives they gained from the series like the hundreds being scored by Shai Hope and Evin Lewis and some stellar individual performances being put in. "There are plenty of positives. We got two centuries in four games, the bowlers came in and did a really good job. And just to see the way we went out in the last game to try and chase down 331, to fall one run short," he said. "For a young group, a very inexperienced team, to get that close, credit must be given to the guys. I'm not disappointed too much in individual's performances. Collectively, we fell short," he added. "To see the way we've grown in this tournament, the way the guys have played, I can't fault them. It's a situation where we need to learn, and learn quickly." The final of the ongoing tri-series will be played between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe on Sunday at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. (ANI)