Share

Holder blasts Windies batsmen after Test mauling

Cape Town - West Indies captain Jason Holder blasted his team's batsmen after they fell to a heavy defeat against India in the first Test in Antigua on Sunday.

The Windies, chasing an improbable target of 419, were blown away for exactly 100 in the second innings as India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah finished with remarkable figures of 5-7.

The Caribbean outfit also struggled with the bat in the first innings as they mustered 222 all out with Roston Chase top-scoring with 48 in a game they went on to lose by 318 runs.

India, in contrast, had more of their batters contribute as they hit 297 in the first innings before Ajinkya Rahane (102) scored the only century of the game in the second knock to allow the visitors to declare on 343/7.

Holder said after the game: "Our batters definitely did not come to the party in this game. We fell short [by] quite a few runs.

"I think the wicket has been a very good one [for batting]. The initial phase with the new ball was the hardest, as a batsman, you should fear, but after that it gets pretty easy.

"It's just a matter for us to dig a little deeper, we've got to fight hard initially upfront in our innings. Give ourselves a fair chance at succeeding."

Holder gave credit to Bumrah as the speedster tore through their line-up in the seond innings while fellow India seamer Ishant Sharma snapped up five wickets in the first dig.

The Windies skipper added: "Bumrah bowled an exceptional spell, Ishant [Sharma] was very supportive, as well as [Mohammed] Shami.

"Just one of those spells in Test cricket when the opposition gets on top and stays on top.

"We've seen it happen in so many occasions around the world. These things do happen in Test cricket, but it's a matter of it not to happen very often."

The second and final Test of the series starts in Jamaica on Friday.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Dolphins 0
Warriors RSA 84/1
loading... Live
Pakistan 80/4
New Zealand 178/7
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
65% - 418 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
35% - 230 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE