India vs Windies: Jason Holder responds to the criticism of the Test team

Windies skipper Jason Holder has hit back at the critics who claimed that the current side doesn’t have what it takes to play against big Test-playing nations. In their first Test against India last week, they suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 272 runs, which was incidentally the hosts’ biggest ever victory in the whites. The visitors also fielded an inexperienced side, and Holder himself watched the match from the dressing room as he was not fit to play.

Batting first in Rajkot, the Indians got off to a flying start courtesy of debutant Prithvi Shaw. Within no time he notched up his maiden Test century after which the skipper Virat Kohli followed up his sparkling form from the England tour to bring up his 24th Test hundred. India ended the first innings with a mammoth 649 on board thanks to Ravindra Jadeja’s century lower down the order as well as the contributions from Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant.

In reply, the Windies were bundled out for a mere 181 in the first innings. Following on, they were once again dismissed for 196 inside two sessions. The spinners did the bulk of the damage for India, bringing the match to a close before the end of Day 3. Holder though hopes for an improved performance from his team when they take on India in the second Test in Hyderabad on Friday.

Don’t want to get personal

Reacting to the criticism that the current Windies team doesn’t belong the highest level in the longest format, Jason Holder said, “The critics should remember that we are playing the best Test side in its own backyard. And, the fact that Windies have not won a Test since 1994 should also remind  how tough it is to beat the home team in these conditions.”

“Well, the focus for right now is not to think what the critics have to talk about us, but focus on the cricketing part and keep improving. Everyone has his opinion and I don’t want to get personal in this regard,” he added.

After the completion of the second Test against India, the Windies will take on hosts India in a five-match ODI series, followed by threeT20Is, before travelling to Bangladesh.

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