Windies play for pride

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, (CMC):

A demoralised West Indies find themselves in an all-too-familiar position, trying to redeem themselves after losing a series, and playing for respect, when they face India in the fourth One-day International today.

West Indies trail 0-3 in the five-match series, following a three-wicket loss in the third one-day international on Saturday at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

Captain Darren Sammy described this defeat as an opportunity that got away from his side, after a sensational, unbeaten 92 from Andre Russell appeared to get them back into the match.

"We have not been getting runs from the top," he said. "We have been getting a lot of lower order runs, and it has been happening from the previous series [against Pakistan].

"We still have to work on it, but I can't fault the effort of the guys. They showed a lot of character [on Saturday]."

It is hard to identify from where the spark can come for West Indies. They have tried all they possibly can and India have outplayed them consistently, playing like the World champions they are, and transforming impossible situations into winning positions.

battle-weary toughness

Sammy however, felt West Indies lacked the same battle-weary toughness, which the Indian side, shorn of a number of its senior players, has shown throughout the series.

India's captain Suresh Raina strongly hinted that his side will give some of its bench players some time in the middle.

The visitors have played the same 11 for the first three matches, and this meant that others like Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Wriddihiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, and Manoj Tiwary have not yet had their chance.

"We have a couple of guys sitting on the bench, and we hope to give everyone their chance in the last two games," said Raina.

He added: "God has been very kind to all the boys. Credit goes to (coach) Duncan Fletcher, (bowling consultant) Eric Simons, and the other support staff. We have gelled well as a team.

West Indies are trying to reverse a record that has seen them now losing all five ODIs they have contested at the this ground since it was constructed ahead of the World Cup four years ago.

Squads:

WEST INDIES (from): Darren Sammy (captain), Carlton Baugh Jr, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Danza Hyatt, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons

INDIA (from): Suresh Raina (captain), Subramaniam Badrinath, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh