We failed to apply pressure: Russell

"When Harbhajan came to the wicket, we didn't really apply much pressure. We allowed him to score freely. That's where we have to tighten up next time. We had to bowl at right areas against him early on to make him uncomfortable. We didn't do that today. All of these things we can take as a learning experience,” said Russell, who bagged the man of the match award.

Russell said staying positive helped him produce the whirlwind 64-ball knock. “I always go in with a positive frame of my mind. I believe in myself and I know I can hit the ball. What matters the most to me is that I get a start. It was important for me to do well and express myself against a top team like India. I grabbed the opportunity with both hands,” he said.

The Jamaican came out bat when the West Indies had lost seven wickets for 96 runs, and his knock spurred the hosts to a competitive 225 for eight. Russell, a former under-17 Jamaican footballer, said he didn’t feel nervous while coming to bat at a tough situation against the reigning world champions.

“The experience of playing in the World Cup helped. In fact, I ran into the crease and had no nerves. It was somewhat a similar situation against England in the World Cup. We had lost early wickets then as well. I just focussed on getting a start. There were lots of overs left and I knew if I could stay there as long as possible, I would score some runs.”