“Execute or be executed” is the challenge facing West Indies’ bowlers as they seek to keep their five-match T20 International series against India alive in Hyderabad, today.
Heading into the penultimate match of the five-game series down 2-1, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy said his team must win the Powerplay battle with both bat and ball if they are to overcome their hosts.
India can seal the series with victory, while the Windies will be hoping to force a series decider. The visitors have so far matched India with the bat, with 200-plus scores the norm on the Indian surfaces, and Hyderabad seems unlikely to prove any different.
But the West Indies coach lamented his team’s inability to contain the hosts during the opening six overs which he said cost them in the previous encounter in Indore. In that game India were dismissed for 223 and the Windies were kept to 209 for seven, losing by just 14 runs.
“To beat India in India, you really got to at least win both Powerplays with bat and ball,” Sammy said.
The head coach pointed to the previous match in which India’s aggressive start gave them an early cushion, and efforts to pull back in the late overs weren’t enough as the hosts still posted a defendable total.
“Minus the Powerplay, we restricted India for under 10 (runs per over) in all three phases. But they did so much damage up front in the Powerplay… I think they went almost 14-and-a-half,” he said.
Sammy acknowledged that the conditions have been difficult for both bowling attacks, with high-scoring matches becoming the norm, but believes the Windies can remain competitive if they execute their plans.
He recalled the words of fellow pacer Keemo Paul, who summed up the challenge facing bowlers on the batting-friendly surfaces. “It’s either you execute or you be executed,” Sammy said, quoting Paul.
The Windies coach stressed that the objective was not necessarily to prevent India from reaching 200, but to stop them from turning a competitive total into an overwhelming one. “If you could keep them at the par score and not let them get to 250, that’s my mindset, that’s my word to the bowlers,” he said.
Sammy also highlighted advice from bowling coach Ravi Rampaul, who noted that forcing batters to hit fours instead of sixes could save two runs each time which could make a difference in the end.
Despite the bowling challenges, Sammy believes the West Indies have shown they can match India’s batting firepower, pointing to their successful chase of 250 earlier in the series.
He said the approach in that record chase was built around breaking the innings into phases and trusting one of the top-four batters to remain at the crease deep into the innings.
“When you play on these wickets, you always feel like you’re in the game. You’re two big overs from getting yourself back into the game,” stated Sammy.
He noted that the visitors have the personnel to consistently challenge the hosts with skipper Shai Hope leading the way while Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd provided valuable support.
“When you look at the team that we have, we have so many match-winners. It is good that Shai is in a good vein of form and I want him to abuse that form as long as possible,” stated Sammy.
“But if you notice in the games, Shai has done really well. He’s been man of the match, but there have been supporting casts along with him.”
The coach also praised the calmness Hope brings to the middle, saying the other players in the side should adapt a similar approach when the pressure is on in Hyderabad, in what will essentially be a must-win match for the tourists.
First ball is 7 p.m. local time (9.30 a.m. T&T Time).
