Former player Salman Butt recently said that India should have gone on to secure many more runs than they did in the ODI series opener against West Indies on Friday 2022 (July 22).
On his Official YouTube channel, Butt stated how the middle-order couldn’t capitalize on the great start of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and Shikhar Dhawan.
He stated:
“India should have scored a lot more runs, considering the impressive start the openers gave. Shreyas Iyer did score a half-century but the batters after him weren’t able to make a significant impact.”
After being asked to batting first, the Men in Blue get to put 308 runs on the board in the ODI fixture. Captain Shikhar Dhawan was the top player with the bat for the side with his knock of 97.
Apart from him, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer also cracked in with some crucial runs in the experience. While Gill scored 64 off 53 balls, Iyer delivered 54 runs from 57 deliveries.
Innings Break!
Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan (97), Shubman Gill (64) & Shreyas Iyer (54) propel #TeamIndia to a total of 308/7 on the board.
Scorecard – https://t.co/tE4PtTfY9d #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/GdJBmSKgih
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 22, 2022
“It went down to the wire in the close” – Salman Butt on West Indies almost going after India’s total
The ex-Pakistan skipper further added that things could have gone either way during the final overs of the ODI clash. He said West Indies have the arms to emerge victorious in such run-chases.
Butt specified that while the Indian bowlers did try their best to control the flow of runs, the hosts were capable of accelerating during the last overs. He emphasized how the batters continued accumulating crucial runs despite losing vital wickets.
Butt explained:
“West Indies needed five runs off the final ball. Anything is possible in such a scenario, especially when you’re up against a team like West Indies. They lost wickets early on but were able to score a lot of runs in the last few overs. The Indian bowlers tried to stop them, but it went down to the wire in the end.”
For his captain's knock of 9⃣7⃣, @SDhawan25 bags the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia seal a thrilling win over West Indies in the first ODI. 👌 👌 #WIvIND
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/tE4PtTx1bd pic.twitter.com/YsM95hV4gD
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 22, 2022
Shikhar Dhawan and Co. finally eke out a narrow three-run win to go 1-0 in the ODI series. The 2-sides will be in action on Sunday (July 24) when they lock horns in the 2nd fixture.