Thaindian News

Chennai, Dec 11 (IANS) Kieron Pollard was all but inconsolable after his maiden One-day century went in vain as the West Indies went down to India by 34 runs here on Sunday. He was to admit later that the recent teams from Caribbean lacked the “killer instinct” to finish a match.

“We had a chance in the first couple of games. It’s just the mental aspect or killer instinct. Past West Indian sides had it, then the Aussies had it and now India is doing really well. Hopefully, we will be better equipped mentally to handle close finishes in future,” he said at a post-match media conference here.

Pollard, the last man out as West Indies unsuccessfully chased a target of 268, sat on his haunches at the wicket for a while as the Indian players tried to console him. His explosive 119 that contained as many as 10 sixes, proved a futile exercise.

However, prior to his dismissal, Pollard celebrated his first international century that he nearly missed but for Virat Kohli dropping a sitter, and he hoped that he would be more consistent in future.

“I hope so (be consistent). Thank God I got my maiden hundred. I wanted the team to win, but didn’t happen today. I just have to go back and reflect on what went wrong.

“The first couple of games were really close. Hopefully, we will take a couple of months off international cricket and reflect and come back strong for Australia,” he said.

On his scoring the century, Pollard said: “I was looking for a different approach. I had a couple of starts in the earlier matches. Thank God that one of the best fielders in India (Kohli) dropped me on 99 tonight.

“I have to be positive. I have to look for singles, but when the ball is in your arc, go for it. Hopefully, I will learn from this and do well for West Indies cricket and for myself.”

Pollard obviously declined to comment on some of the umpiring decisions that went against the West Indies. “I don’t want to comment too much on that. At the end of the day, it is just cricket,” he said.