West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has urged his top-order batters to go deeper and put up a heavy value on their wickets after losing the series opener to India on Sunday. In the first ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium, West Indies were in trouble at 79\/7 before Holder (57) stitched a stand of 78 for the eighth wicket with Fabian Allen (29) but the tourists slumped to 176 all out in 43.5 overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We got to dig deeper. I don't think we are too far off to be fair. Our top-order just needs to go a little deeper, put a heavier prize on their wickets, and just get themselves a really good chance. In these conditions, you can give yourself a really good chance to make up. You can always be knocking around close to run-a-ball and finish well past run-a-ball at the end of the innings. It's just a matter of our batters to dig a little and take it deeper for the team," said Holder in a video released by Cricket West Indies (CWI).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Holder was hopeful of his team putting up a better show in the second ODI on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We just got to put a bigger prize on our wicket, too many soft dismissals in the innings today (on Sunday). The pitch was a little difficult to start off but more or less we still got to dig a little bit deeper, put up a much better fight than we did in this game. I can't fault the bowlers too much. Trying to defend the score that we did was always tough. It's just a matter of us to regroup. We got a couple of days off and come back stronger."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Holder appreciated Allen's efforts with the bat but felt that the total could have been more competitive if not for the end of the partnership in the 38th over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It was a clear-cut situation where we needed to dig deep and spend time. Fabian is a very capable batsman. He is one of those guys who can strike really well when he gets in. So, I just try and give him that confidence and we tried to build a good partnership. It is unfortunate when he got out, had he gone a little longer and we build a partnership a little further, we could have been in a real good position to finish the innings off nicely."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 30-year-old signed off by saying that they will keep the dew in mind while preparing for the second match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n