T20 World Cup | Need to put loss to Proteas behind us quickly, says West Indies’ Shepherd

West Indies' Romario Shepherd emphasizes the need to quickly recover from their loss to South Africa before facing India.

West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd reckoned the team has to quickly put behind the nine-wicket loss to South Africa ahead of the final Super Eight clash against India.

While the Proteas have qualified for the semifinals, the Caribbean side and Suryakumar Yadav’s men will face off in a virtual ‘quarterfinal’ game at the Eden Gardens on Sunday (March 1, 2026).

Shepherd scored a fine unbeaten 52 and added 89 for the eighth wicket with Jason Holder to help the Windies recover to 176 for eight from 83 for seven. However, Aiden Markram played a captain’s knock and polished off the target in 16.1 overs.

“We don’t have much time, actually, to go and sulk. Just to keep a level head and try to recover as fast as possible for that big game. It’s a must-win game, so we know our destiny is in our own hands. Hopefully, we can go there and get a win and go through to the semi,” said the Guyanese cricketer

The 31-year-old also felt the team failed to make full use of a good batting surface and agreed that they were short by nearly 50 runs.

“Yeah, I think so, because even when the guys were getting out, they were telling us that the wicket is so good. Even when I went out there, the wicket was so good. The first few balls that hit my bat, it just comes on like you’re batting on concrete,” he added.