Here's why Virat Kohli and Co lost 4th ODI vs WI despite Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni 50s

Antigua: In what seemed to be an easily achievable target for a dominant Indian side after having restricted West Indies for a paltry 189 in 50 overs, the men in maroon came out all guns blazing with an astounding bowling performance to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat on Sunday.

With the Indian bowling once again proving to be impressive on a less supportive batting pitch, the visitors were left scratching their head at the end of the game. India currently lead the series 2-1 with the final ODI to go, there are still some lessons to take away for Virat Kohli’s team.

Here are 3 reasons what went wrong for India in the 4th ODI loss.

1) Poor shot selection:

While India’s batting strength has been their primary arsenal, this match displayed that at times, even the best of batting line-ups can crumble due to poor shot selection.

The Windies bowlers stuck tight to their bowling length and mounted pressure on the Indian batsmen forcing them to undertake necessary risks that resulted into poor shot selections.

The gentleman’s game is also about valour and temperament, and Holder’s men displayed exactly that.

2) Carelessness during the powerplay:

Playing on a damp pitch for a second consecutive match, the nature of the wicket turned out to be much slower and the Indian batsman had to once again be cautious in their shot-making approach.

But by the end of the powerplay, Dhawan and Kohli were back to the pavilion, a similar mistake that occurred in the previous ODI.

Once again, this led to the dependency on the middle and lower order to soak the pressure and the likes of Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya couldn’t pull it off this time.

3) Complacency:

Let us leave the past where it is. After consecutive dominant victories over the hosts, India looked in a position to cap of the series in style until fortune flipped sides.

Rahane was a stand out performer once again, and while many critics have had a go at MS Dhoni’s slow paced innings, it was the former Indian captain that kept the momentum of the game going.

The turning point of the game was those middle overs where India looked complacent and were pushed on the back foot. Dhoni kept losing partners at the other end while the required run rate crept up with each passing over, leaving a bit too much load for Dhoni and the tailenders to complete the task.