THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: One theme that recurred during the press conference of West Indies fielding coach Nic Pothas was the greatness of the Indian team and the class his boys are up against. His words could have taken one back to the first half of October when the team began its tour.
They started on a disastrous note and sank to embarrassing defeats. The first Test in Rajkot and the second in Hyderabad got over inside three days. It prompted talks that the five ODIs and three T20Is would also follow a similar script. Such thoughts gained momentum after India easily overtook the visiting team’s 321 in the first ODI.
However, a fightback followed and a tie, a win and another loss later, West Indies are now one win away from levelling the series. If they achieve that, it will be a huge morale-booster for side not rated very highly.
Pothas felt one big difference between his team and the likes of India or Australia is the lack of depth.
“One thing we don’t have in West Indies and we have in India, England or Australia is that they have got depth and they can rest players. They have real quality coming from behind them. Unfortunately, we are not in that place at the moment,” he said.
The sparks shown by Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and skipper Jason Holder have been of some help, but to win against a strong opponent, consistency and proper execution of plans are a must. “We’ve seen that we can execute plans for short periods of time. The challenge is going to be to execute these over 100 overs. If you’re going to beat India or England or Australia, Pakistan, you’ve got to execute plans for 100 overs.”
The biggest drawback for the West Indies has been their bowlers, who failed to make inroads. If they can do that and arrest the Indian batting, then they could think of accomplishing a major feat.
“It’s a possibility. Travelling to India is always a wonderful experience. It’s a great tour to judge yourself both as a player and coach. It’s a great place to let yourself know where exactly you’re at with your cricket,” he remarked.
After being written off, they have a chance to redeem themselves.
“The boys are young and eager to do something big. Thiruvananthapuram might be a turning point for the side,” team sources said.