Darren Sammy was dismissed for 41, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd Test, St Kitts, 5th day
Basseterre, St. Kitts – West Indies went under to Pakistan by 196 runs to lose the Second Digicel Test on the fifth and final morning at Warner Park. The Windies were asked to make 427 for victory, but were bowled out for 230 shortly before lunch on Tuesday.
Captain Darren Sammy played some bold shots as he cracked six fours in 41 off 51 balls, while left-hander Ravi Rampaul hit two sixes and two fours in 20 off 22 balls; while Pakistan’s spinners Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal shared the wickets again.
The result meant the Pakistanis rebounded to level the two-match rubber 1- 1 following their 40-run defeat in the First Digicel Test in Guyana.
Speaking after the match on Tuesday, Sammy said the team was disappointed with the result in St Kitts. He, however, outlined that a share in the series was still something for his players to be proud of.
“We did a great job getting the win in Guyana, and we were looking for similar success here in St Kitts, but things did not go our way. Pakistan played some good cricket, and you have to give them credit,” Sammy said.
“Our bowlers did all that was asked of them all throughout the series. They bowled with heart, and that is what we asked. This is one of the positives we could take out of the series. We had momentum coming into the match, and we had them on the run in the first innings, but the last-wicket stand switched the momentum a bit and took it away from us at that stage. When we batted, we did not put enough runs on the board, and we were always playing catch-up from that stage.”
The West Indies will now switch their attention to the upcoming tour by World Cup champions India, who are due to arrive in the region early next week.
Sammy noted: “It’s all about hard work and putting into play what we worked hard on during the training sessions. We have a full series against India coming up, and it will be a tough series. We have to continue to put in the hard work and look to put totals on the board so the bowlers will have runs to work with. We are a confident group of young men and we will go into that series with the belief that we can win.”
The West Indies squad to face India will assemble in Trinidad early next week for the Digicel Pearls T20 International, which will be played at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain on Saturday, June 4. (WICB release)
