5:45 PM
Editor
West Indies captain Darren Sammy on Saturday said his team has worked out a "different strategy" to tackle India's spin attack on the turning pitch in Chennai in Sunday's must-win group B match of the cricket World Cup.
West Indies have to win on Sunday to be assured of a spot in the quarterfinals and Sammy said he realises how effective India's spinners can be at Chepauk against his team's batsmen, who have been inconsistent so far.
"I would not say it is a problem. We would have a different strategy against spin. India have a few spinners and we will look to counter them. We have shown that we can play spin, we have some powerful players and some ball-workers. Players are aware what they have to do and I have no doubt that they will do that," Sammy said in the pre-match press conference.
"The wicket for tomorrow's match looks a lot similar to the one on which we played against England. I think both the teams would agree that it still had more runs. Hopefully, I will win the toss and bat first and get the spin from the wicket bowling second," he added.
Sammy said the morale of the team is high despite the narrow loss to England in the previous match.
"It has been ups and downs. We keep the momentum to make the knockout stage. We have got to focus against India and hopefully we will win the game tomorrow," he said.
"All the players are in good spirit and all of them will come out hard tomorrow. I know how important a game it is against India. For us, I am sure everybody will give his 100 per cent. I back everybody to take on to their responsibility," he added.
Asked whether Shivnarine Chandrapaul will be playing as he has done well against India earlier, Sammy said, "Obviously, we meet tonight to decide on the best eleven to play against India. When we play a good opposition there are no considerations. We all respect Shiv what he has done for us in the past. He is one our most experienced players."
On the repeated failure of the middle-order to come good, Sammy hoped for an improved show on Sunday.
"Earlier, when Chris (Gayle) got out the team would crumble. This is not the case with this team. Chris got out in the first over against South Africa and still the others got us to total 220 and odd. It is good to see performance coming from different individuals.
"As a captain that is good for me and the team. We saw in the last game when young Bishoo and Russell stepped up and such collective contributions are always good for the team," he said.
West Indies have not beaten a major team for over 20 months and Sammy blamed it on inconsistency.
"We are aware we are closer. The key thing is that when the opportunities present themselves, we need to grab them. In our matches against South Africa at home and then against Sri Lanka, there were key moments but we slipped up.
"Therefore, it is important that when such moments arise, we need to seize them. We have been doing that," he said.
The Indian team has also had an unconvincing campaign so far but Sammy said he prefers to focus on his own team's preparations rather than look at what the opposition is doing.
"...we respect them and they have some good players. We will come out with our game plan and hopefully if we execute them properly, there will be pressure on the Indian team," he said.
Sammy lavished praise on senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, saying ,"Nobody can question what Sachin has done for the game. He is a great player. We respect him like we respect every player in the Indian team. We will have our plan against him and hopefully we will executive it properly."
West Indies have to win on Sunday to be assured of a spot in the quarterfinals and Sammy said he realises how effective India's spinners can be at Chepauk against his team's batsmen, who have been inconsistent so far.
"I would not say it is a problem. We would have a different strategy against spin. India have a few spinners and we will look to counter them. We have shown that we can play spin, we have some powerful players and some ball-workers. Players are aware what they have to do and I have no doubt that they will do that," Sammy said in the pre-match press conference.
"The wicket for tomorrow's match looks a lot similar to the one on which we played against England. I think both the teams would agree that it still had more runs. Hopefully, I will win the toss and bat first and get the spin from the wicket bowling second," he added.
Sammy said the morale of the team is high despite the narrow loss to England in the previous match.
"It has been ups and downs. We keep the momentum to make the knockout stage. We have got to focus against India and hopefully we will win the game tomorrow," he said.
"All the players are in good spirit and all of them will come out hard tomorrow. I know how important a game it is against India. For us, I am sure everybody will give his 100 per cent. I back everybody to take on to their responsibility," he added.
Asked whether Shivnarine Chandrapaul will be playing as he has done well against India earlier, Sammy said, "Obviously, we meet tonight to decide on the best eleven to play against India. When we play a good opposition there are no considerations. We all respect Shiv what he has done for us in the past. He is one our most experienced players."
On the repeated failure of the middle-order to come good, Sammy hoped for an improved show on Sunday.
"Earlier, when Chris (Gayle) got out the team would crumble. This is not the case with this team. Chris got out in the first over against South Africa and still the others got us to total 220 and odd. It is good to see performance coming from different individuals.
"As a captain that is good for me and the team. We saw in the last game when young Bishoo and Russell stepped up and such collective contributions are always good for the team," he said.
West Indies have not beaten a major team for over 20 months and Sammy blamed it on inconsistency.
"We are aware we are closer. The key thing is that when the opportunities present themselves, we need to grab them. In our matches against South Africa at home and then against Sri Lanka, there were key moments but we slipped up.
"Therefore, it is important that when such moments arise, we need to seize them. We have been doing that," he said.
The Indian team has also had an unconvincing campaign so far but Sammy said he prefers to focus on his own team's preparations rather than look at what the opposition is doing.
"...we respect them and they have some good players. We will come out with our game plan and hopefully if we execute them properly, there will be pressure on the Indian team," he said.
Sammy lavished praise on senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, saying ,"Nobody can question what Sachin has done for the game. He is a great player. We respect him like we respect every player in the Indian team. We will have our plan against him and hopefully we will executive it properly."
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