NEW DELHI, India, IANS/CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy yesterday said he was happy with the performance of his young team despite losing the first Test against India.
“It was a damn good display by our team here. We were aware how tough it is to beat India at home,” Sammy said.
“We played some good cricket. Had we scored some more runs in the second innings it would have been a different ball game.”
West Indies went down by five wickets half-hour after lunch on the fourth day here yesterday, after India lost three further wickets in carrying their overnight 152 for two to the victory target of 276.
“We always had hope. Cricket is a game of shifting fortunes and glorious uncertainties,” Sammy said.
“So getting the wicket early gave us some hope but Laxman and Sachin took the game away from us.”
Sammy, who picked up five wickets in the match, also praised the medium pacers for their fine performance on a low and slow Kotla track.
“I think we stuck to our plan and played well. The bowlers have performed well and they have done an excellent job since coach (Ottis) Gibson took over last year,” the all-rounder pointed out.
“The bowlers have worked very hard and we have showed today that we can even put the strong Indian batting line-up in trouble.
“Tendulkar and Dravid are the two most experienced batsmen in world cricket and I think we kept them under check. We stuck to our plan and I don’t think we could have done anything different.”
West Indies snatched a 95-run, first innings lead after bowling India out for 209 in their first innings.
However, the tourists’ batting folded up for just 180 in the second innings, causing Sammy to lament the poor showing.
“When you play against a top team, you want to create the opportunity to win. We did that in the first innings, but did not bat well in the second,” Sammy said.
“The pitch played much better on the third and fourth day. We want improvement, we have to look to create opportunities and hopefully cash in. We believe we can win matches here.”
West Indies’ batsmen suffered at the hands of debutant off-spinner Ravi Ashwin who took a six-wicket haul in the second innings to finish with nine wickets in the match, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha who nailed six wickets in the first innings.
Sammy admitted his side had some vulnerability to slow bowling but needed to be more patient in the remaining Tests.
“Playing spin has been an issue for West Indies batsmen. Whenever the spinners came into play we went into a defensive mode,” he noted.
“I wish we were more positive against the spinners. So we need to find ways to score against spin and not let them get us out. Shivnarine Chanderpaul showed how to play the spinners and be successful.”
