"On that wicket, 130-135 would have given the Indians more of a challenge" - Brathwaite © AFP

Carlos Brathwaite, West Indies skipper, felt the batsmen failed to assess the conditions properly as the hosts were restricted to 95 for 9 in Florida, before losing the first T20I by 4 wickets against India, on Saturday.

Put in to bat, the top-order collapsed early - languishing at 33 for 5 in the powerplay - before Kieron Pollard's run-a-ball 49 allowed them to play their quota of overs. Brathwaite praised Pollard's mature knock and the fight put up by the bowlers to stretch India in what should've been a relatively easy chase.

The pitch was on the slower side with the ball stopping a bit. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar admitted that it got easier to bat on as the game progressed, India too lost six wickets in the process and managed to overhaul the 96-run target only in the 18th over.

"Once again I think we didn't assess conditions well," Brathwaite said at the post-match presentation. "Kudos to Kieron (Pollard), coming back into the team, he showed his leadership and experience.

"On that wicket, 130-135 would have given the Indians more of a challenge. That being said, obviously a lot of heart and fight shown on the field. To take the game as deep as we did with the score that we did have shows that it was a tough pitch, and it's probably a lack of assessment early enough that we batted ourselves out of the game."

However, the West Indies skipper stated that his side won't be shy of playing attacking cricket even in the coming games, but added that they will have to be smarter with their shot selection and the manner in which they pace their innings.

"We are going to play with positive, aggressive intent, as our instinct as West Indians allows us to play. So the message will continue to be to keep the intent," he said. "However, we need to assess better and be a bit smarter in shot selection. So it's not about not trying to get boundaries, but knowing that if you get a boundary early in the over on a tough pitch, you can settle for 6-7-8 an over. Get deeper (into the innings) and then our power at the back end - myself, Pollard, (Rovman) Powell coming in at the back end in the last five overs or so, we can probably get up to 150 today."

The second T20I, on Sunday, will also be played at the same venue - Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground - in Lauderhill before they head to Guyana for the final match of the T20I series.