Bridgetown (Barbados), July 2 (IANS) West Indies coach Ottis Gibson feels the struggling batting line-up of the hosts can rise to the occasion if India are ‘generous’ enough to give them an achievable target on the final day of the second Test here Saturday.
India ended day four at 229 for three in their second innings and lead by 240 runs with seven wickets remaining.
Gibson hoped that India will set them a target thinking that their batting has been their weakest point so far in the series.
‘We need to hope to bowl them out and see if there is a possibility of a run-chase,’ Gibson said. ‘The way we have batted, they might still think they can win the match and that gives us an opportunity,’ said Gibson after the fourth day’s play at the Kensington Oval Friday.
‘If they are generous, they might give us a target. It could be an interesting last day. We bowled them out for 200 in the first innings and couldn’t get them. They might think they have enough. We tried to chase 300 in Jamaica and though we fell short by 63 runs we did well at the start of that chase. We have got to believe that our batsmen will come good at some point. If there is a chase tomorrow the batsmen might be spurred to perform.’
When asked about the performance of opener Lendl Simmons, who has not scored a fifty in 13 innings, Gibson said: ‘You don’t want to single out an individual in a batting order that is not performing. Everyone is encouraged to play their natural game. Simmons is an attacking batsman and has got that freedom to play that game and in his case he has that liberty to smash his way through the new ball. He did that in Jamaica. We don’t restrict him.’
Though India managed to get a healthy lead by the end of the day, the West Indies were successful in blocking the flow of runs with the innings run-rate being 2.57 runs per over. Gibson praised his bowlers for containing the batsmen and said not taking the new ball when it was due worked for them.
‘The plan the captain employed was the right one. We are behind the game at the moment. Every time we have taken the second new ball, in the Pakistan series and here, it has been with tired bowlers and the opposition have made quick runs against us. To not let them get away too far from us was a good job. They have to bat again tomorrow, which means we have taken some time out of the game,’ he said.
