International cricket will return to the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) today, as West Indies and India clash in the first of two Kuhl Stylish Fans T20I Series powered by Black and White T20 Internationals.
Coming off a thrilling 4-run win in the first game of the series, the West Indian team are said to be upbeat about the remainder of the series.
During a pre-match press conference on Saturday, Captain Rovman Powell fancied the conditions at Providence, where the match will be played on Sunday and Tuesday.
“To be honest, just from training here today, I think it’s better conditions than what is in Trinidad. To be honest, the pitch seems to be a little bit better. Hopefully, tomorrow when we come, we do conclude that it’s a better wicket,” Powell said of the conditions at the Guyana National Stadium.
Quizzed about India missing their big-name players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Powell refused to discredit their ‘young’ opponents.
Powell explained, “I think to how powerful India is as a cricket nation, any team India put on the park gets the respect they deserve. I think we have treated them the same, you know, as there is a Virat Kohli and a Rohit Sharma. You know, it’s just to keep applying the pressure to these young players, and hopefully, in favour of West Indies, they will crumble.”
Given their first win, the captain of the Men in Maroon is quite optimistic about going 2-up in the tournament, saying the team is upbeat.
“I think complacency is the furthest thing from our minds. India is 1-0 down, we’re expecting them to come hard, but if we, as a West Indian team, can find ourselves 2-love with a 2-0 lead in this series, that will be very, very important,” the West Indian T20 Captain opined.
Powell further stated, “You know, the guys are upbeat of our chances of pushing this series to a 2-0. So, hopefully, tomorrow we can do some right stuff and edge India again.”
Further probed about how the captain intends to motivate his players to attain the consistency needed to win the series, Powell highlighted that it is a personal matter goal that players are already working towards.
(Jemima Holmes Photo)
