WI vs India: 2022 ODI Series, Game 3 of 3: Pooran oozes confidence as Hetmyer passes fitness test

…Motie ruled out of ODI Series

West Indies will take on India in the final One Day International match today from 09:30 hrs in Port of Spain, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. India has already bagged the series 2-0, but West Indies white ball captain Nicholas Pooran is contending that the confidence level of his team is still high heading into this final game, despite suffering back-to-back losses to India.

“The confidence level is still there. The guys are obviously hurt; (those) two losses hurt us a lot, but that is another game and another experience and another opportunity for us to learn. This game keeps teaching us different things every single opportunity we get, and I am just happy that we have had that experience.
“It is difficult to lose, but, as a group, (we) understand, and as I keep telling them, winning and losing (are) contagious, and at the moment we are losing. But in terms of the confidence level, all the guys are ready for the challenge,” Pooran has said.

The Windies skipper also divulged that, with the opportunity to bat first and chase in the series, they are still figuring things out, but he is confident that, with the current crop of players, things will be figured out.

Addressing the role of Shai Hope in the team, Pooran explained that his role is to bat through the innings, as he doesn’t need to study about the strike rate, but just be out there for the team. Pooran was confident in stating that, once Hope is at the crease, he is going to score runs for the West Indies, which is what matters the most, as he is an important factor of the team.

With eight T20I games coming up and four more ODI games as well, the addition of The Sixty and CPL, Pooran has declared that the players need to be manage and be smart about it at the end of the day.

The West Indies have had “two close encounters” in the first two ODIs against India, according to Pooran, who referred to the defeat the West Indies had experienced at the hands of Bangladesh.
“We know the conditions would not have allowed us to play the way we would have liked to, but we learned a lot there (in Guyana). Coming up here, we were looking for better wickets, and the Queen’s Park Oval offered us that. I think that is a big tick in the box for us, as we asked for good wickets and we got good wickets, and we came out and I still feel we batted better,” Pooran has said.
The West Indies skipper is also been optimistic that wherever the team has to play in the future, there would be good pitches, not only for the West Indies, but for the other team as well. He was careful to explain that he was not asking for any home advantage, but just for good cricket pitches and for things to continue going the team’s way.
Pooran also shared news on a few West Indians, such as Jason Holder, who had contracted COVID-19 but is now considered fully recovered. Pooran also relayed that Guyanese Gudakesh Motie is out of the series, due to a fractured finger; Keemo Paul has recovered from his hamstring injury and is fit to play, and Shimron Hetmyer has passed his fitness test, which would see him up for selection.
Questioned on Hetmyer’s result, Pooran commented, “With him passing his fitness test, he is now up for selection. I am happy that he came and did put the work in, and that says a lot about him. So, I’m looking forward for him to be up for selection, and hopefully he can do well for West Indies and continue to put smiles of people’s faces and entertain.”
The leading run-scorer for the West Indies in this series is Shai Hope with 122 runs, while Kyle Mayers comes in at third with 114 runs. In the bowling department, Alzarri Joseph comes in second with four wickets, one behind India’s Shardul Thakur.