Bowlers did the job against India 'A', says Powell

Bangalore, Sep 19 (IANS) Quite obviously, skipper Kieran Powell was pleased as punch that his team, the West Indies ‘A’, bounced back to win the three-match one-day series 2-1 against India ‘A’ here Thursday as he attributed the success to some disciplined bowling.

“Of course, I am extremely delighted to have come back and win the series after losing the first game. Before the series, we had discussed that to beat India, you need to take wickets consistently and that is what we did here,” said Powell after the game.

Powell had a special word for seamer Miguel Cummins: “Cummins was outstanding throughout the series.”

As for the team strategy, Powell said: “After the first game, we watched the Indians and strategised around the Indians’ game. We then executed it well.”

“Also, Kirk Edwards gave himself a chance and played deep into the innings. That is what the team needed and he got it,” Powell said.

Powell was all praise for the younger players in his team while pointing out that many of them were travelling to India for the first time.

“A lot of players have come to India for the first time. The conditions in India are different and it is a different experience. The bowlers have bowled well and the batters have batted well. This augurs well for West Indian cricket,” he said.

India ‘A’ captain Yuvraj, who personally had a good series with the bat, said he was disappointed with the efforts of the batsmen and admitted that his bowlers leaked too many runs in the death overs.

“We played very well in the first game, but all credit to the West Indies. They played extremely well in the third match,” Yuvraj conceded.

“We conceded too many runs at the death and when you are one batsman short (Mandeep Singh was not available to bat), it becomes difficult.”

“Unfortunately, I and Aparajith got out at the same time and the rest of the batsmen did not contribute enough. Hopefully, we do not repeat the mistakes in the T20 game (on Saturday),” said Yuvraj.

Aparajith, who top-scored with 78, said he opted to pace his innings and that playing alongside Yuvraj Singh was an experience in itself.

“I wanted to be myself and follow the routine and process before going into the match. I was nervous initially, but settled later. I like to play long, start slowly and then increase the speed.

“Batting with Yuvraj Singh was a nice experience and it was the first time. It made my innings easier. He was striking the ball well. I was taking singles and giving him the strike since he was hitting the boundaries.

“After Yuvraj got out, my plan was to take it to the powerplay because it is an important stage, but I got out,” said Aparajith.