‘16th over was the turning point’ – Jason Holder after West Indies beat India in first T20I

Jason Holder. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

West Indies defeated India by four runs in the first T20I of the series. Batting first, the home team posted 149 runs on board after struggling in the opening phase. Stumper-batter Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell later played some brilliant cricket and courtesy of their effort, the team reached to a winnable total.

With the ball, the Rovman Powell-led side did a commendable job as Obed McCoy, Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd picked up two wickets each. Notably, Indian batters struggled in the middle, as the home team picked up a thrilling four-run victory.

Meanwhile, after the completion of the match, veteran all-rounder Jason Holder stated that the 16th over of India’s innings changed the complexion of the game. He also lauded the bowlers for doing a brilliant job and for picking up wickets at crucial times.

“It (16th over) was the turning point based on the fact that the game was coming down very close. They had set batters and we had to stay in the game. The guys really stuck together, it was a total team effort. The conditions played in the favour of the bowlers. We got early wickets, which is really important,” Holder stated in the post-match presentation.

Holder explains the reason to opt out of ODI series

The 31-year-old revealed the reason he took a break from the ODI series, saying that the cricketer wanted to focus on his workload management. He added saying that due to a lot of pressure, he has been playing a lot in the last few months and thus, wanted a break to refresh and come back again.

“The amount of cricket I’ve been playing for the last three years, it’s a lot. I try to find some passages of break, get some time off, refresh and come back again. I think it (a break from the ODIs) was needed. I was happy that I stuck with my plans. I wanted to make them work hard for their runs, didn’t want to give any free runs,” Holder added.