We didn't capitalise on a good start: Sammy

Port of Spain: After succumbing to a seven-wicket defeat against India in the second ODI, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy blamed his batsmen for failing to capitalise on a good start.

According to skipper Darren Sammy, his middle- and lower order batsmen couldn't capitalise towards the end and once again fell short of a par score. © AFP

Sammy said his batsmen showed intent but could not bat through and eventually fell short by around 30 runs at the Queen's park Oval.
"We put ourselves in a good position but we didn't capitalise in the end. We were about 30 runs short. We rotated the strike better today but we didn't get one of the top batsmen to bat through," Sammy said after the match on Wednesday.
"We were on the backfoot in the latter part of the overs, losing wickets at regular intervals. The intent from the batsmen was good initially.
"Samuels has been out for a while but we saw how well he was batting. Sarwan is also stabilising the middle order for us. We can't fault the effort of the bowlers; they've been doing their job. Hopefully, In Antigua, we'll have a better surface for us to play our style of cricket," he added.
Chasing a revised target of 183 in 37 overs, India scored the runs with 20 balls to spare and stand-in skipper Suresh Raina praised his bowlers for setting up the win for them.
"Bowlers executed the plans very well. Amit Mishra bowled very well in the powerplay. Munaf gave us breakthroughs as well and Virat and Parthiv did well in the chase. Virat showed great responsibility," he said.
Virat Kohli, who was adjudged 'Man of the Match' for his 103-ball 81, said he took advice from his senior colleagues and it helped him to get over his last game disappointment.
"I was disappointed getting out in the last game but did well today. Parthiv played amazingly and we had a good partnership up front," he said.
"I spoke to seniors who suggested I use the pace of the ball, more than force the shots trying to hit the ball too hard.
"The last 18 months have gone well for me; I've started to enjoy the batting a lot more. It's a good feeling to get to 2000 runs and I'd like to take responsibility of the team if needed at any point of time," he added.
India are now leading 2-0 in the five-match series. The visitors will take on West Indies on Saturday in the third one-day international at North Sound.

PTI