Bring on India, says Windies' Bravo

Dwyane Bravo celebrates taking the wicket of Junaid Khan during the ICC Champions Trophy group B match between West Indies and Pakistan at The Oval on June 7, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo is confident of containing India’s batting firepower when the two sides meet in a key Champions Trophy match at the Oval on Tuesday.

The winner is almost certain to take one of the two semi-final berths from group B after both teams won their opening games, albeit in contrasting fashion.

India, the reigning World Cup champions, brushed aside injury-hit South Africa by 26 runs in Cardiff after an impressive batting display saw them post a commanding 331-7.

The West Indies shot Pakistan out for 170 at the Oval on Friday, but then showed their vulnerability while batting as they lost eight wickets while chasing the modest target.

All-rounder Bravo, who replaced Darren Sammy as one-day captain ahead of the tournament, said the close result did not worry him as his side prepared to face the in-form Indians.

“We came out on top and that’s more important,” said Bravo. “It does not matter if you lose eight or nine wickets, we got the two points that we wanted.”

Bravo, whose side beat Sri Lanka by 17 runs in a practice match in Edgbaston last week, said winning two games in a row was the right morale-booster ahead of tougher encounters.

Bravo, who plays for Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, said the West Indies had the resources to take the world champions in their stride.

“It’s another tough game against a team whose strength lies is their batting,” he said. “But we have the right bowlers to control their batting.

“Cricket is played on the day. India could turn up on Tuesday and be knocked over, or score a big total again as they normally do.

“I have the right attack if I want to go with someone with raw pace. I have the reserve bench that is strong enough to actually come up with the 11 that I think will do well against the Indians.”

Bravo said the opening win against Pakistan added to the joy of captaining the West Indies.

“It is a great personal achievement for me,” he said. “But it is not all about me as a captain. It’s how we all come together and try to make the best decision for the team.

“The West Indies normally do not start well in tournaments like this, so it was important that we get our first win out of the way and look forward to the rest of the games ahead.”

India, who have won eight of their last 11 one-dayers against the West Indies over the past three years, will look to continue their fine batting form over the past week.

They chased down Sri Lanka’s massive 333-5 with an over to spare in a warm-up game in Birmingham, with Dinesh Karthik making an unbeaten 106 and Virat Kohli slamming 144.

India then rode on opener Shikhar Dhawan’s 114 off 94 balls to pile up another 300-plus total against a depleted South African attack missing injured strike bowler Dale Steyn.

But the bowlers will have to deliver against a line-up that has match-winning batsmen like Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard.