\u201cI mean, look, as a professional, that\u2019s not what you want to hear before a series. Before the pay cuts, I said, there is no better time to play India. You win against the best team, you get some leverage, not only for the West Indies as a whole, but for you personally.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cPerforming against India pays you back down the road. We try our best to put that there. I commend the guys for the way they put their heads down. Yes, the results have not gone (our way). But we keep improving in certain areas,\u201d said Sammy in the pre-match press conference, on the eve of the third ODI against India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Evaluating the team's progress on the ODI leg of the tour, Sammy praised the aggressive approach of his top-order batters, even as the bowling unit has struggled. \u201cIntent is something that we\u2019ve spoken about in the dressing room. We have had four batters scoring 100s in two games. It is a positive for us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe rotation of strike, the intent, especially against spin- these are the KPIs that we take. But we still need to find ways, when the pitch is not really offering any assistance to the bowlers, to be disciplined in our lines and lengths and the plans that we put in,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sammy also felt the visitors missed an opportunity to put up a much better total in the second ODI in Guwahati, as India chased down a massive 406. \"The position we were in, especially in ODI cricket, they normally say when you find yourself in a good position on a good pitch, at 30 overs you should be able to double the score.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think at 30 overs we were 230-odd. So you were looking at 450 thereabouts. But the last 10 overs we only scored 70-odd runs, when it's a time when you're supposed to accelerate the innings.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India made light work of the 406-run target by chasing it down in just 43.3 overs on the back of a mammoth 255-run opening stand between skipper Shubman Gill, who struck an unbeaten 223, and Rohit Sharma, who hit 101.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"When we came in at 400, and you're looking at all the stats, you say India has never chased 400 before, and you're hoping that we could go as a bowling group and get wickets up front, because that's what you have to do to beat India in India. You've got to get wickets in the powerplay, get wickets in the middle, and build that pressure with a total that is over 400,\" added Sammy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Admitting that the Indian opening pair completely outplayed his attack, Sammy conceded that the bowlers were given no room for error. \"But Shubman and Rohit didn't really give a chance. The way they batted, both of them. Rohit scored a hundred off, I think, 70-odd balls, and Shubman was even faster. So, they scored big hundreds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"When we came in at 400, and you're looking at all the stats, you say India has never chased 400 before, and you're hoping that we could go as a bowling group and get wickets up front, because that's what you have to do to beat India in India. You've got to get wickets in the powerplay, get wickets in the middle, and build that pressure with a total that is over 400,\" added Sammy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n