'We Can Match No. 1 Side, If We Do Things Consistently Well': Sammy Issues Bold Warning After West Indies' Historic Win

Head coach Daren Sammy said the West Indies will take valuable learnings from the ODI series against India, from which he has gathered enough clues about his team’s ability to measure up against the top teams in the circuit.

Riding on Shai Hope’s blistering 162 not out, Windies completed the record chase of 352, denying India of a series sweep here on Saturday. India won the series 2-1.

“We came here knowing the quality that India has, and to measure ourselves against a quality team like that. We've shown that when we do things consistently well for long enough, we could match the number one team in the world. So, we'll take a lot of learning from this belief as well,” Sammy said in the post-match press conference.

Sammy praised skipper Shai Hope for his astounding hundred, which came after keeping wickets for the entire Indian innings.

“Shai Hope played an amazing innings today, and a well-deserved victory. The skipper is a bit tired. He was in the field for 98.2 overs, so I had to fill in for him (for press meet). But what a player, you know, literally took the team on his back today with the bat like he's done so many times before,” Sammy said.

“Jewel Andrew suffered some pain in his finger, and the skipper stepped up. Not anything new to him, but just to keep for 50 overs and then put on your pads and go and play an innings like that, that was special. He is a class player.

“I don't think he gets enough credit for what he's done for the West Indies, how he's played, and the commitment he's given to us. He leads by his performance," he added.

Sammy acknowledged that the severe physical and tactical demands were placed on his bowling attack throughout the three matches because the pitches offered hardly any assistance.

"To be fair, it's hard to judge the bowlers in this series. It's been hard work for them. The pitches had absolutely nothing to offer. The margin for error was—well, actually, they had no margin for error," Sammy noted.

But Sammy was delighted to see the bowlers keeping India to a par score despite the unhelpful conditions and pitch.

“We did see areas where Jayden Seales bowled today, creating chances, and that's what you have to do as a bowling unit. No matter what the surface brings or allows you to do, you try to put more balls in the right areas.

“I thought in the powerplay, Jayden Seales and Matthew Forde, backed up by Alzarri (Joseph) were really good. It put enough pressure on India to help us restrict them to a par score on that surface," he explained.