Ahead of the second ODI of the five-match series against India, the Windies skipper Jason Holder is expecting some discipline from his fast bowlers in the remaining games as he suggested that they need to pick early wickets. Despite putting up a stiff target of 323 runs in the series opener, the men in blue chased down the target with almost eight overs to spare, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma slamming big centuries.
Talking about the same during the pre-match press conference, Holder said, “In limited overs cricket, in these conditions, you need to utilize the new ball. We want to take a few more wickets with the new ball. We got one wicket in the last game and if we can get two or three wickets upfront, it will help us put pressure on their (India’s) middle order. Here the par score can be anything from 320, 340 to 350 and you need to bowl ridiculously well to defend it. Hopefully, we will be able to repeat it (batting effort).”
Shimron Hetmyer scored a mind-boggling century and Kieran Powell a brisk fifty, but Holder, citing the Kohli-Rohit 246-run partnership, said his team’s batting has to be clinical.
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The skipper further added, “When you put runs and are never too sure if it is enough or not… Obviously our bowlers struggled against Kohli and Rohit. We need to be more disciplined in bowling and a bit more clinical with the batting. Like how Rohit and Virat went the distance after India lost an early wicket.”
With the ICC World Cup is scheduled to commence in a matter of 9 months, the visiting skipper said the aim is to give everyone opportunity to prove their worth for the team, helping the team settle into a cohesive unit. He also feels that it’s difficult to keep everyone motivated when the team is losing games more often than not. However, he also feels that the youngsters’ eagerness to prove that they belong to this level, is good enough reason to stay motivated.
When asked about the absence of big names such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and the Bravo brothers, Holder replied, “Gayle is not here and what happens after this series is too far beyond. We have youngsters like Chanderpaul Hemraj in the top order. We want to give them as much exposure as possible.”
