Batsmen earned West Indies a draw - Sammy

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Darren Sammy felt the batsmen saved West Indies from defeat in the second Test against India, which ended in a draw on Saturday.

The West Indies captain rejected the suggestion that rain, which interrupted the hosts' chase of a victory target of 281, helped his side.

But Sammy said the batsmen gave him hope for the final Test, starting on Wednesday at Windsor Park in Dominica, after the way they fought, particularly in the second innings.

"We could do much, much better, but we have seen guys taking responsibility for putting runs on the board in this Test," he said.

"Samuels played a good innings for us. He batted long. It was also nice to see young Darren Bravo score runs and also Carlton Baugh, who has been under some pressure.'

Sammy added: "Throughout the game, it has been raining, but we do not have control over the weather.

"I think our tail-enders have shown that they are capable of batting for long periods, but we'll never know what could have happened in those last 10 overs."

Sammy said he was happy with the result, since it allowed his side to head to Roseau, still having a chance to level the series.

He believed West Indies had a chance to win at Kensington Oval, particularly when Bravo and Baugh seemed to have set them up.

"We believed we had a chance of getting the target," he said. "The coach outlined the game in stages, and with 15 overs remaining we were right on course.

"But we had lost more wickets than we had anticipated, but we still believed that we could have won it."

He said: "We bowled out India for 201 in the first innings, and I think we should have led them by at least 100. We still have a lot of room for improvement because we are not getting over the 300-run threshold, but our bowlers are doing well.

"We will only beat India when we, as a batting unit, put runs on the board. More or less, I think we had more positives, so we will strive on them and try to maximise on them in the next game."

Bowlers' hard work

Sammy hailed the hard work of the bowlers, making special mention of Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards, who captured his ninth five-wicket haul in Tests in India's second innings. But he was not totally convinced that West Indies should shorten their batting, and include fast bowler Kemar Roach in an effort to restrict India's batsmen.

"We have noticed that the pacers throughout the series have had the Indian top order under pressure," he said. "From all reports, the Dominica pitch seems to be a bouncy surface, so we will hope and see how it plays. The bowling has not been the problem. We have taken the wickets."

He concluded: "But we as a batting unit have to be prepared to face the pace and bounce of Sharma and swing of Kumar.

"It is about putting runs on the board, or overhauling our opponents target. All of this will be considered for the next Test and, hopefully, we will come up with the right combination."