Shepherd hopeful WI can rebound

AUCKLAND, New Zealand:

After suffering a heartbreaking three-run defeat to New Zealand in the second T20 International on Thursday, West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd believes the team can regroup and rebound ahead of Saturday's crucial third match.

Chasing 208 runs for victory, the Windies were on the ropes at 93 for six in the 13th over, until cameos from Rovman Powell, who blasted 45 from 16 balls, Shepherd (34 from 16) and Matthew Forde, who finished unbeaten on 29 off 13 balls, brought them to close to victory.

They needed six runs off the last three balls but only managed three, to end on 204 for eight.

The 87 runs they plundered off the final five overs were the most by any Full Member Nation in a T20 International chase.

TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW

Speaking in the post-match press conference on Thursday, Shepherd said the loss was a tough pill to swallow.

However, he was confident the Windies would rebound in the third game at Saxton Oval on Saturday.

"Sometimes a close game can hurt you because you can look at so many areas where you could have pulled back six runs, or where you could have bowled a better over or something like that, or play a better shot off a certain ball, but it is what it's supposed to be, so hopefully next game we can pull off a win," Shepherd said.

"On this ground it was a good wicket, it was a better wicket than the first game and it showed that. We know what we're capable of in the back end and we showed that tonight.

BETTER START

"We wanted a better start, but all in all the game goes how it went, so hopefully in the future we can plan our innings a bit better, set up the game a bit better so that we can finish," he added.

Shepherd predicted there would be more high scoring matches to come in the series, based on the type of pitches in New Zealand.

"We all know how good the wickets are in New Zealand and how small the boundaries are and stuff like that, so you have to be on the ball each and every ball you bowl and each and every ball you bat, because 200 is not enough anymore in T20 cricket these days.

"It's a new venue, a new challenge, so hopefully we can start well like we did on Wednesday night," Shepherd said.

- CMC