India skipper Ishan Kishan today blamed poor fielding for his team's defeat in the final of the U-19 World Cup against the West Indies here, saying dropping crucial catches and missing run out chances hampered their cause immensely.
The West Indies out-witted the Rahul Dravid-coached Indian side by five wickets in a tense summit clash to clinch the coveted trophy.
"The bowlers were bowling in the right areas. Even our fielding was good to begin with, but then we dropped some of the catches which were very crucial and missed run outs also," said a disappointed Kishan at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Kishan said that this experience in Bangladesh will help the players in shaping their international cricket careers.
"Many of the batsmen and bowlers played well, and this will help them after Bangladesh. But I just felt that we should have done better in this game, especially the fielding," said the 17-year-old.
West Indies had put India in to bat upon winning the toss and the three-time champions lost early wickets.
Asked if it was tough to bat first, Kishan said, "It was difficult to bat on early but we are used to these conditions, so I can't have an excuse of having batted first. We lost a few early wickets."
West Indies captain Shimron Hetmyer said no one expected them to be the champions but it was good to come out on top. "I feel good, word can't explain me how good. The way the guys played showed. We weren't supposed to be champions but we came up to top," said Hetmyer.
He was all praise for the two batsmen -- Keacy Carty (52 not out) and Keemo Paul (40 not out) -- for keeping their calm and steering the team all the way. "The pacers used the pitch to their advantage, they stood out for us. Carter and Paul are aggressive players, they made the adjustment. They kept a calm head," he said.
Man of the match Carty revealed that he was determined not to leave Bangladesh without a landmark. "We performed very well. It is a very good feeling. I told myself that I can't leave the Under-19 World Cup without a landmark," he said.
Carty insisted that this win would inspire the youngster take West Indies back to its glorious days. "We work together, we hope to take West Indies back on top where we were," said Carty.
