Senior Windies batsman Marlon Samuels said his side is ‘looking to win and not only compete’ after the Caribbean outfit stunned India in the third ODI by 43 runs.
That Windies will not be a walkover like they were in the Test series was very much evident after their performance in the first two ODIs. In a country where very teams manage to dominate with the bat, the Caribbean outfit scored 320-plus totals and nearly beat India in the second game.
And they finally beat India on Friday in the third game to level the five-match series 1-1. Unlike the last two games, Windies could not cross the 300-run mark. Riding on Shai Hope’s 95 and Ashley Nurse’s 22-ball 40, they ended their innings on 283 for 9. But the score turned out to be more than enough as India were all out for 240 despite captain Virat Kohli scoring his third consecutive century of the game.
India lost wickets at regular intervals but Windies’ stumbling block — Virat Kohli — was going all guns blazing at the other end. However, Marlon Samuel ended his heroic knock and all but sealed India’s fate.
Samuels came on to ball in the 42nd over and got the all important wicket of Kohli to send him packing for 107. The senior pro went on add two more to his tally and ended the match with match figures of 3/12 from 3.4 overs.
Speaking after the match, he made it clear that winning games is now paramount for Windies.
“Very important going into the next game 1-1, we wouldn’t want to go 2-0. We will take the next game even more seriously and as long as we are good in all three departments we will be good. We are looking to win and not only compete,” said Samuels.
And, when asked if he was just in the side to take Kohli’s wicket, he said:
“Yeah definitely (on him being the side to take Kohli’s wicket). I have not been bowling in the nets much as I am coming back from a knee injury.”
Samuels further lavished praise on Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer. The pair have starred for the Windies so far in ODIs by scoring 250 and 237 runs respectively.
“For me to sit in the dressing room and watch Shai Hope bat in the way he’s been batting, we have been having a lot of discussion on how to bat on the Indian tracks, is wonderful. He is definitely one for the future. He’s (Hetmyer) fearless. He is brave, he has to get consistent,” added Samuels before leaving.