West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo is undaunted by the threat posed by a new-look Indian team and said tomorrow’s game between the two sides would be a “cracker of a contest”.
“I know it is going to be a cracker of a game. We know India are a very good team; it is going to be a very good game. Both teams are very strong in bowling and batting. let us see how Sunday comes out,” Bravo said ahead of their Tri-nation One-Day series game against India at Sabina Park. West Indies began their campaign in the tournament with an easy six-wicket victory over Sri lanka, courtesy opener Chris Gayle’s 100-ball 109, which included nine fours and seven sixes while chasing a 209-run target last night.
On the other hand, India are on a roll after their Champions Trophy triumph and would aim to continue the unbeaten run when they take on the hosts, who would be eyeing revenge after their eight-wicket defeat in a league match of the eight-nation tournament. Bravo was all praise for Man-of-the-Match Gayle for his first One-day International ton in almost a year, which paved the way for his team’s comfortable victory and hailed him as the best batsman in the world. “Chris is the best batter in the world and is our best player, and we are always happy to see him getting runs,” Bravo said.
“We know it has been a while since Gayle has made acentury, he has been getting starts but when he gets a start on a wicket like this he has to cash in,” he added. Bravo said Gayle’s good form at the start of the tournament augurs well for the team as well as the West Indies cricket. “He has eased off the pressure now. I know that at the back of his mind he felt that he wasn’t scoring big for us and he knows how important he is as a player for us. I know that once Chris is in that kind of form, it is good for us as a team and good for the West Indies cricket,” he said.
Brief Scores
Sl: 208 in 48.3 overs (Mathews not out 55, Jayawardene 52; Narine 4/40, Rampaul 3/38) lost to WI: 209/4 in 37.5 overs (Gayle 109) by six wickets.