'Never got into second or third gear' – Brathwaite

Although the Windies only managed 109/8 in their 20 overs, the bowlers created opportunities in the Indian innings, reducing India to 35/3 that soon became 45/4 in the eighth over. Fast bowler Oshane Thomas, on debut, dismissed both Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, and finished with excellent figures of 2/21 from four overs.

However, it was not enough, as the Windies simply didn't have enough runs on the board. "We didn't apply ourselves and never got into second or third gear," Brathwaite said after the match of the batting effort.

"We were either too defensive or too attacking. I can see the way Keemo (Paul) and (Fabian) Allen finished, if we had wickets in hand, we would've got 130-140, which would've probably been a winning score."

Paul and Allen, who got together at 63/7 after Brathwaite's dismissal, added 24 runs that took the team total closer to 100. And while the effort seemed to be too little too late, had the bowlers held their own for a bit longer, the result may have been different.

In the end, it was Dinesh Karthik's 34-ball 31* and debutant Krunal Pandya's nine-ball 21* that guided India home after Manish Pandey had contributed a vital 19 off 24 balls.

For Thomas, who consistently breached the 90mph barrier and dismissed Dhawan for the third time on the tour, Brathwaite had words of praise. "It's a young bunch of guys who want to be fearless and understand the privilege to represent Windies," he said.

"Lot of us grew up watching the legends. I don't know what the long-term plans will be from the selection panel but had a few chats with him (Thomas), just about using this opportunity.

"He's at the best place he could be. Hope he gets fitter, gets stronger and continues to bowl rapid, and continue to grow as a cricketer and a person. For him, the world is at his feet.

"I will try to guide him as well as we can. Ultimately it's up to us, the Windies cricket system, to pull him along and create what would be another Joel Garner or Michael Holding."