Mumbai: West Indies have not had a great start to their India tour. They have played two warm-up games against India A but have failed to register a win. They had lost the first warm-up by nine wickets but put in a slightly better show in the second one but they lost the match by 16 runs.
Denesh Ramdin, who scored a century in the second game, is optimistic of the team's chances ahead of the five-match ODI series starting on Wednesday in Kochi. Ramdin believes that the arrival of Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Andre Russell will boost the team.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo after the conclusion of the second game, Ramdin said, "We are right where we want to be. Bravo, Smith and Russell still have to slot in. That will give Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy more finishing power at the end. Today, we kept losing wickets consistently. But we can take some confidence going into the next game."
The West Indies wicketkeeper said that the pitch at the Wankhede for the match was a good one for batting. He said that the seamers ran in hard and hit the lengths nicely. He was happy with his effort behind the stumps as he snapped up five catches. The one area of weakness which he pointed out was the way in which the team bowled with the new ball.
"It was a good day in terms of my glove-work and then batting and getting a good score. But I wasn't happy in terms of batting right down to the end and finishing off the game for the team." Ramdin praised the efforts of Sammy and Jason Holder but the top order once again failed. In contrast, India A's Unmukt Chand continued his fine form as he scored a century to back up his 79 in the first game.
"It's very important that our batters put runs on the board. We have to get early wickets and put their middle and lower order under pressure," Ramdin said. He said that the pace bowlers will play a key role as the tour progressed and said that Jerome Taylor will be key for the West Indies' success after the withdrawal of Sunil Narine.
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