Port of Spain – West Indies were plotting on Tuesday how best to avoid their second successive One-day International whitewash this month and their fourth in six series this year, as they geared up for Wednesday’s finale against powerhouses India.
Despite gutsy performances in both ODIs of this three-match series at Queen’s Park Oval, West Indies found themselves outplayed to come away with a three-run defeat in the opener this past Friday and a two-wicket loss two days later.
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran said while his side was still smarting from both narrow defeats, the final ODI presented an opportunity for them to get that elusive win.
“The confidence level is there,” he said. “The guys are obviously hurt. Those two losses obviously hurt us a lot but tomorrow is another game and another experience and another opportunity for us to learn.
“This game keeps teaching us different things every single opportunity we get, and I’m just happy we’ve had that experience. It’s difficult to obviously lose and be disappointed, but that’s where the learning takes place and as a group we understand and know that for a fact.
He added: “Winning and losing is contagious, and at the moment in ODI cricket, we’re losing and we’re finding ways to lose games.
“But in terms of the confidence levels, all the guys are ready again for the challenge, and we are ready to come there and put our hearts and souls out there and perform for the team just to get that win.”
Both performances were in stark contrast to the ordinary efforts on dodgy pitches against Bangladesh in Guyana, where West Indies failed to crack 200 on any occasion and were even bowled out for 108 in the second match – their second lowest ODI total against the visitors.
On quality surfaces at Queen’s Park Oval, West Indies surpassed 300 in both ODIs while chasing and also batting first, opener Shai Hope scoring a hundred this past Sunday, and Pooran, Brandon King, and Kyle Mayers all getting half-centuries in the series to date.
Pooran said the Caribbean side had moved on from the disappointing Guyana experience and believed their talent was now being fully expressed in the ongoing series against India.
(CMC)
