WI v IND 2019: West Indies missing "key points" in the game but also improving, says Carlos Brathwaite

West Indies has long struggled for consistency in the 50-over format.

Carlos Brathwaite | Getty

Struggling West Indies will have to perform out of its skins to beat India in Trinidad on Wednesday (August 14) and finish level in the ongoing three-match ODI series. 

The Men from Caribbean have often been found wanting at their 50-over skills and that is perhaps the biggest difference between the two sides. 

While the visitors have been robust, West Indies remains plagued by inconsistency. 

However, Carlos Brathwaite, the team's mainstay all-rounder, reckons: "I don't think we are that far away. We just continue to miss key points in the game. If we look back at the World Cup it is the same thing."

"If we look at the game the other day we weren't cruising, but we were in a good position, and then we lost three or four quick wickets."

Offering context to Braithwaite's words, West Indies lost a flurry of wickets after being 179/4 during the chase of 270 in the second ODI. 

India eventually bounced back and clinched the 46 overs per side game by a margin of 59 runs via the DLS method. 

"We are just missing a few key moments that could have turned one or two loses into wins and make us look a little better, give us a little momentum, and start to try to win series more consistently," he added.

To give Virat Kohli's men a run for their money, West Indies will have to try and exploit the opponent's weaker suit - its vulnerable middle-order - by posting a big score on the board and putting them under pressure with the ball. 

"We drew the last series against England at home as well. And then going into the last game it is for us to get the batting in order. If we get good starts going into the back end that'll give us a good chance," Brathwaite said.

"I think the batting has much improved especially since the T20s and from the overall batting performance in the World Cup as well."

"But, we didn't close it off. We batted well in the second game as well, it was about closing it off. Hopefully, that happens in the next game as well and for the lower half to close the game."

Brathwaite further said Jason Holder's team has a lot of self-belief and it's only about executing those plans to perfection on the field. 

"I don't think it is belief per se. I think if you ask the guys in the dressing room if they believe they can win. I think they do believe they can win. The execution of that belief is lacking in key moments like I said."

"So, I don't think it's a lack of belief or a lack of passion and in most cases it's not even a lack of skill, but just executing what we want to execute the key moments of the game, which was the case in majority of the World Cup and this series so far," he concluded. 

(Inputs from ANI)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 14 Aug, 2019

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