India's ODI series ended on a disappointing note as West Indies chased down a target of 352 to win the third and final match by five wickets on Saturday.
Shubman Gill acknowledged that India have areas to improve after the defeat. India posted 351/7 in their 50 overs, but West Indies reached the target in 48.2 overs to register their highest successful run chase in ODI cricket.
Shai Hope was at the centre of the chase, remaining unbeaten on 162 off 143 balls. The West Indies captain had also hit a century in the second ODI, when his side scored 405/7 before India chased down the target with an eight-wicket win.
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Despite the defeat, India had already sealed the three-match series after winning the first two ODIs.
Speaking after the third ODI, Gill pointed to India's fielding and death bowling as two areas that need attention ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.
"Lot of boxes ticked but there are some areas that definitely need fine tuning. Our fielding could be better. We dropped around 6-7 catches. That is not a good sign leading up to the World Cup."
The 27-year-old also admitted that India needs greater clarity in their approach during the death overs, particularly over whether to attack or defend.
"We need to work on our death bowling. We are not clear whether we're attacking or defending, especially when we are bowling the death overs," he admitted.
"One day such a game, if the opposition is five or six down, you are never really sure what fields to take, whether we are going for the death too early or we are still bowling kind of like middle overs, " he added.
"I think these are some areas which definitely we need to be better at," Gill noted at the post-match presentation.
Shai Hope Credits MS Dhoni
Hope's unbeaten 162 was the foundation of West Indies' successful chase. After the match, the captain revealed that advice from former India skipper MS Dhoni had helped him with his approach to batting.
Hope said Dhoni had told him that he "always have more time than you think", encouraging him to focus on the process rather than the final result.
"I had a great chat with the great man MS Dhoni and he was telling me always have more time than you think. So just trying not to focus too much on the end result," said Hope.
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"Just look at the process, try to break the game down as best as I can and find ways to get the boundaries in the back end," he added.
Shai Hope has impressive numbers in the ODI format, with the batter scoring 6,590 runs in 158 matches at a brilliant average of 51.48.
The defeat ended India's unbeaten run in the series, but Gill's side had already secured the series after their wins in the first two matches.
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