Need to bat well, says Sammy

The skipper, who took three wickets in 11 deliveries to break the back of the Indian middle-order, said he wouldn’t read too much into the fact that his team was ahead by 116 runs with eight wickets in hand.

“Looking at the wicket, we won’t take anything for granted just because we bowled them out for less than 250,” Sammy remarked. “The plan is to score as many runs as possible. It is about assessing the game tomorrow. We will look to bat time and runs on the board are also important. We would like to put 350 plus on the board. The wicket is low and slow but as Chanderpaul showed, if you occupy the crease then there is runs to score.”

The West Indies bowled India out for just 209 to snatch a vital first-innings lead of 95. Sammy, though, didn’t believe it was the perfect day. “There is still a lot of cricket left in this match,” he noted. “It was not a perfect day but I am happy with the way our bowlers bowled. We are a good bowling unit and we bowled in the right areas. We encountered similar conditions in Bangladesh and we were quite aware of how to bowl on it. We decided to bowl straight, wicket-to-wicket.”

India had got off to a cracker, reaching 39 without loss in four overs by lunch. Asked what the thinking at the interval was, Sammy replied, “We have accepted that the new ball might go for some runs. But as the ball gets older, it becomes much more difficult to score. We have bowled out India on more than four occasions in the Caribbean. There is belief in our bowling and it is about bowling in the right areas, be it for Sachin or Ishant.”

Once again harping on the ‘fearless’ theme, Sammy said, “We believe in our ability. We came here to play fearless cricket and in that we believe. Credit to our bowlers and even though India had a good start, we kept our cool and the efforts of Carlton Baugh really helped us. He held onto difficult chances. That catch of Laxman and then the stumping of Sehwag, these are things that motivate the team.”