T20 series win over India critical: Pooran

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Captain Nicholas Pooran on Thursday stressed the importance of winning the five-match Twenty20 International series against India, as West Indies attempt to bounce back from whitewashes in the one-day format.

The Caribbean side have lost their last four T20I series against India and, in fact, have only beaten the Asian powerhouses once in their last 12 meetings on bilateral tours.

Pooran said, even though West Indies had produced solid performances in the past, those had not translated into series wins and they hoped to alter this trend over the next several days.

“I guess the guys are always up for the challenge against India. They obviously want to show the world what they’re made of as well,” Pooran told a media conference on the eve of today’s match. The match bowls off at 9:30 a.m. Jamaica time.

“Unfortunately we haven’t been getting series wins and that’s something we want to happen.

“We just don’t want to perform as players and the team is still losing. So, looking at this series here, the only thing on our minds is finding a way to be successful.”

West Indies are coming off two straight 3-0 drubbings in the one-day format after losing to Bangladesh in Guyana and to India at Queen’s Park Oval here.

And, for as much as the T20 format has been long regarded as the home side’s strong suit, they have still only won nine of their last 23 matches inside the last 12 months.

Pooran said it was therefore critical that his side executed in all areas if they were to turn around recent results.

“We definitely want to continue working on getting wickets with the new ball, bowling at the death and, from a batting perspective, continue to utilise that power play and form partnerships that can win us games,” Pooran pointed out.

West Indies take on India in the first T20 International at the Brian Lara Stadium before travelling to Warner Park in St Kitts for the next two matches on August 1 and 2, and then wrapping up the series in Florida with the final two games on August 6 and 7.

SQUADS:

WEST INDIES – Nicholas Pooran (captain), Rovman Powell (vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.

INDIA – Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh