You can easily string a sentence together with the words 'India', 'cricket' and 'carnival'. Now, you might as well add 'festival' to the mix. After all, Holi is round the corner. On Friday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni & Co. will look to extend their vice-like grip on Group 'B' by making it four wins in a row. But a key player in the West Indies camp, all-rounder Darren Sammy, has an unkind message for the defending champions. "India could celebrate Holi, but we will celebrate victory," the 31-year-old said on Tuesday.
Tall claims? Well, there is no clear-cut answer. When it comes to unpredictability, the Caribbean outfit is as reliable as your local weatherman. Then again, going by the form India are in, Sammy and his mates will have to outdo them on several fronts to come up trumps.
The West Indies go into this crunch encounter with two wins and two losses to show. After being stunned by Ireland in Nelson on the third day of the tournament, they played to their potential against Pakistan in Christchurch. Three days later, in Canberra, they registered a straightforward win over Zimbabwe thanks to Chris Gayle's mammoth knock of 215. They were then brought down to earth by AB de Villiers (162 not out off 62 balls), who powered South Africa to a 257-run victory in Sydney on February 27.
Chris Gayle didn't bat at the nets, but Sammy put to rest all talk surrounding the superstar's fitness. "As far as I know, everybody is fit. We have two more practice days before the match. From what I know, we have a full squad to choose from… Chris's (troubled) back has been same for me for the last three years. He continues to come up and win matches for the West Indies. I know, once he is (fully) fit, he will turn up and give his all for the team," Sammy said after the team's training session at the Sports Oval, Murdoch University.
He acknowledged that the inconsistency of the bowling attack has cost the team dear. "We haven't created enough pressure on the opponents when we bowl. When we bowl well and get it right, we compete with the best in the world. We have to maintain proper line and length and bowl the yorkers at the death. We have to come up with a plan otherwise it is difficult to stop the batsmen with (only) four men outside the circle. We have to come up with a plan to minimise the damage that can be done at the back-end of the innings," he said.
Friday's contest will played in the backdrop of the Caribbean team's decision to pull out of their series against India last year. But Sammy chose to let bygones be bygones. "We have put that thing behind us. I have said many times that whatever happened in India, we have a good relationship (with them). It was something that should not have happened as it robbed all of you an opportunity to watch two teams who enjoy playing each other.
I don't think that will affect us here," he said.
Sammy also spoke of the prospect of bowling on one of the liveliest pitches in world cricket. "Any fast bowler would be excited to bowl at the WACA. Having said that, India are playing well and our quick bowlers can't just come and blast the batsmen out," he explained.
Sammy pointed out that the West Indies have several match-winners. "Chris (Gayle), (Dwayne) Smith, Marlon (Samuels), Jason (Holder), (Andre) Russell, everybody can win matches. India are a good team but we do our thing right, we compete with the best in the world," he said, adding that he speaks to chief selector Clive Lloyd for inspiration. "He is a double World Cup winner. He is a legend. I hope all our guys are picking his brains as there is a lot of knowledge in there."
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