Kanpur: The series-levelling win in the second ODI at Visakhapatnam gave a struggling West Indies the self belief that they can beat India in their own backyard, the visiting team skipper Dwayne Bravo said here on Tuesday.
After the six-wicket loss to India in the first ODI in Kochi, West Indies pulled off a narrow two-wicket victory against the hosts in the next match to liven up the three-match series.
“Winning the last game gave us the confidence and the belief that we can actually beat India in India,” Bravo said on the eve of the third and deciding ODI at the Green Park stadium, which will be hosting a international match after nearly four years.
“From our point of view, we are just focused on improving on our previous performances and try to play together as a team more consistently. In the last five encounters we’ve had with India in ODIs, we’ve won two and lost three.
“So, tomorrow’s game will be very important to get even and of course win the series,” said the West Indies captain.
Bravo conceded that it will take something “special” from the Caribbean side to beat the Indians in two consecutive matches at home.
“The Indian team will come back hard after the hurtful loss and since it’s a day game, it will be very hot and humid. It’s not going to be easy but I will keep reminding the team of the importance of beating the number one team in the world,” he said.
The West Indies skipper said execution of plans is very important to win matches and they were focusing to do that on Wednesday.
“Before the last match we had a very good team meeting – it was very interactive and thorough. In all meetings we formulate our plans but never really executed them on the field, which we did well the other day. I will remind the guys of the good things we did in that match and encourage them to repeat them tomorrow,” Bravo said.
Bravo, however, said he wants his batsmen to learn from their Indian counterparts on how to convert starts into big scores. (PTI)