LONDON –West Indies will look for their second victory and move a step closer to the semi-finals when they face-off against India at the Oval. Both teams enter the match with a win – Windies over Pakistan and India over South Africa – so the winners of Tuesday’s match will take a giant leap towards the final four of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.
West Indies players during a practice session. Photo: windiescricket.com
West Indies are brimming with confidence following their resolute performance against the Pakistanis and Head Coach Ottis Gibson backed his charges to get the better of the Indians. First ball is 10:30 am (5:30 am Eastern Caribbean Time/4:30 am Jamaica Time).
Pointing out that the ICC World T20 win in Sri Lanka last October has given the team supreme self-belief, Gibson said: “Over in Sri Lanka… winning the tournament there gave us obviously huge belief that yes, we can win. We know we have the superstars, we know we have the players, and have the talent and the ability. Sri Lanka gave us a huge belief that we can win and you’ll see a sort of renewed attitude within the team that when we come to major tournaments we’re not just here to make the numbers up anymore.
“The rankings say that we are now eighth in the world. We know that on our day we’re capable of beating the number 1 team, we’re capable of beating any team in a format like this where it’s so short and every game matters, so we have to bring our A game. And that is why we put in all the time in the nets and stuff like that to make sure that every game we are on top of our game and looking to win.”
Gibson added: “Like I said just then about entertainment value, that’s the one thing you will get when you come into the stadium to watch West Indies play – you will be entertained. There was a time not long ago where we entertained you and ended up on the wrong side of the result, and we’re hoping to change that. We saw against Pakistan a very close, entertaining match; low-scoring but very entertaining, and we actually got the right result.”
In the opening game Kemar Roach starred with the ball to win the Man of the Match award and jumped to 15th place in the ICC ODI bowling rankings. He took three early wickets as Pakistan were bowled out for 170. Roach’s pace and swing was well backed up by the clever off-spin of Sunil Narine, who cemented his spot at the top of the ICC ODI bowling chart.
“Over the last two years of his career, he’s had a really good time. He’s done very well for us,” Gibson said of the 24-year-old Roach. “Coming into this tournament he hadn’t been at his best, and he’s put a lot of work in and I’m really pleased for him that the work that he put in has paid off. He’s a big player for us and we needed a performance like that from him, and we’re very pleased for him, and we hope that he can do the same again tomorrow.”
Gibson said of Narine: “Of course we know what he can do for us, but he’s got a part to play in the game as well as the other five bowlers that we picked, so we expect everybody to play their part – the captain and the fielders around him – to take the pressure off him. Generally if you’re playing and you feel like you’re under pressure you don’t perform to your best, so we want him to try and be as relaxed and comfortable as he can and back his skills and his ability to get the job done for us.”