Lara backs Pollard's appointment as Windies skipper, says he'll face an uphill battle

Cricketing legend Brian Lara backed Kieron Pollard's appointment as the captain of the Caribbean side and said that the new captain would face an uphill task in the road leading up to the T20 World Cup next year in Australia. Pollard's West Indies proved their worth with the bat as they posted a mammoth total of 207 runs but failed to defend it as Virat Kohli and KL Rahul helped India snatch a victory with eight balls to spare. With all eyes on the T20 World Cup next year, former West Indies cricketer Lara had some suggestions for Pollard in terms of both building a formidable team and leading the side as a skipper. 

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Lara claims Pollard will face an uphill battle

Speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of the 1st T20 in Hyderabad, Lara backed Pollard's appointment as the new skipper and said that his experience in various leagues around the world would help him lead the side although his representation in the Windies' colours was less. Lara backed Pollard to lead the West Indies squad in the World Cup and said that both his teammates and the opposition respected Pollard. However, Lara said that Pollard faced an uphill battle ahead as he had to build a team with a proper combination before heading to the showpiece event. Lara hoped that the West Indies side would leave as a better team after this tournament and that it was not required of the side to essentially win in order to improve. 

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1st T20I: A statistical round-up

Indian captain Virat Kohli brought up his 23rd T20I half-century and currently holds the record for most 50+ scores in the format. He eclipsed Rohit Sharma’s 22 fifty+ scores (18x50s and 4x100s) with his recent match-winning effort. Virat Kohli also closed in on Rohit Sharma in the list of all-time leading run-scorers in T20Is. Virat Kohli (2,544 runs) is now just 3 runs away from his deputy who currently tops the charts with 2,547 runs. Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 94 off 50 balls was also his highest ever T20I score. His previous highest was 90 (55 balls) against Australia in 2016. Prior to this innings, Virat Kohli averaged an exact 50 in the shortest format of the game. The Indian captain holds an average of 51.91 and is currently the only batsmen in the world to average over 50 in all three formats of the game. India chased down West Indies' 207-5 with eight balls to spare. This was also India’s highest-ever successful run chase in T20 internationals.

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