Washington Sundar's drop of Lendl Simmons proved to extremely costly for India as he led West Indies towards series parity © BCCI

Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, blamed his team's fielding efforts after their eight-wicket loss to West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday, and said that 'if you field like that, no total is big enough'.

The Indian fielders dropped two catches in the fifth over of West Indies' chase, offering the two openers - Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis - a life each during the powerplay. While Lewis, who was dropped on 17 off the fourth ball of the over, carted three sixes thereafter en route his 35-ball 40, Simmons, who was dropped two balls earlier, went on to steer the chase with an unbeaten 45-ball 67. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who could have accounted for two wickets in that over, finished with none.

Both were reasonably easy chances. The first (of Simmons) was a mistimed shot that went high up in the sky, allowing Washington Sundar ample time to settle under it. The other (of Lewis) was headed to the left of Rishabh Pant, who was wrong footed when he moved a bit to his right while following the trajectory of the ball before the edge flew in the opposite direction. Both the players, who have faced criticism for their efforts on the field lately, fluffed the chances yet again on what proved to be another forgettable outing for them.

More concerning for Kohli was that it wasn't a one-off off day for the fielders. For the second game in a row, India were sloppy in the field, a day which also included a rare misfield by Ravindra Jadeja. "No, not (happy with the fielding) at all. In the last two games we've been below-par on the field," he said in the post match presentation. "I think we were good with the ball in the first four overs, we created enough pressure. But if you drop two chances in a T20 game then, it's going to cost you.

"If they'd lost two wickets in an over, they'd have been under pressure. I think it's a game of margins and we need to understand where we went wrong. It's there for everyone to see. Fielding is something... we need to be more brave. We shouldn't be afraid of dropping catches."

While players from both the teams admitted that dew wasn't a factor while fielding, Kohli did hint at the possibility of the floodlights playing a role. The Indian skipper may have taken a fine diving catch at long on, but at the same position in the previous innings, Kieron Pollard had to shield himself when Shivam Dube's miscue got lost in Pollard's line of vision. The low lights were also an issue for the Indian fielders at Hyderabad but Kohli insisted on the need for better preparation going ahead.

"It was one those catches that stuck, it came out of the lights a little bit," he admitted about his catch to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer. "But I just committed to it and put both hands out and it stuck. In the last game, I put one hand out and I dropped it. It's about putting in the effort and controlling what you can, sometimes it sticks and sometimes it doesn't."