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Difficult to stop India on a winning run: Sammy
With India on a 10-match winning streak at home, it is difficult to stop their juggernaut, said West Indies captain Darren Sammy ahead of their second One-dayer in Visakhapatnam on Friday.
West Indies are yet to win a match against India despite coming agonisingly close on a few occasions during this tour so far.
"India so far have won the last 10 games at home. When you have a winning run, you always tend to get a way to go over the line," said Sammy.
India wriggled out of a precarious position to clinch a nerve-wrecking one-wicket win over the West Indies in the first ODI at Cuttack to take 1-0 lead in five-match series.
Windies had a real match in their hands when they had India 201 for 9, chasing 211 but the victory remained far-fetched as Indian tail of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron crossed the line in time.
'A win is just round the corner'
However, Sammy said that they would be taking a lot of positives from the last game and felt that their elusive victory was just around the corner.
"We keep getting close. We need to find ways to overcome that. We managed to take India all the way down to the wire, defending a small total. As much as we were disappointed in losing, the guys will take a lot of confidence going forward in the One-day series," the skipper insisted.
"We are definitely looking to win games here. We have showed that we can compete with the best One-day teams in the world. Had we shown killer instinct in the last game, we could have crossed the line. Hopefully, we would come victorious tomorrow.
"We as a young team, we need to find a way out whether it's mentally, physically or tactically. I believe in all the guys here. A win is just round the corner. It could be tomorrow," he added.
'We had our moments in the 1st ODI'
Sammy said the wicket was a typical batting-friendly but they would have to perform well to win the match.
"It looks like a very good One-day wicket. In the last match too, the wicket looked good. But both teams did not bat as they should have."
Applauding Rohit Sharma (72) and Ravindra Jadeja's (38) contributions to India's victory in Cuttack, Sammy said, "The two guys really played well and put in a partnership. So many times, two guys stood up and batted well. We had our moments though. When you lose by one wicket, you come out with so many ifs and buts.
"But we take a lot of positives going into the next game and hope to win against India."
'We were lacking in consistency'
Sammy pointed out that they have to put more stress on their batting.
"We didn't put together two innings of proper batting. In One-day cricket we have to find a way to be consistent. That's where we are lacking. We were lacking in consistency. We have (Darren) Bravo, who is batting well."
Asked whether rookie off-spinner Sunil Narine would be drafted into the side, Sammy explained: "Narine is in the squad. Definitely he will be considered. He has been selected based on his form (in Champions League T20 here). He could be a world-class bowler for us."
Sammy also hailed the effort of his fast bowler Kemar Roach and hoped that he would contribute in a winning cause on Friday.
"We all know about his capabilities. He is working really hard at the nets and with the coach. He had a good World Cup in India. He showed glimpses of that in the last match. Hope he will continue with that and win it for us."