Marlon Samuels lauds Indian bowlers after first day's play

Kolkata - West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels on Wednesday credited Indian bowlers for their disciplined performance which restricted the visitors to a paltry score of 234 in the first Test at Eden Gardens.

“Obviously it is disappointing when you choose to bat first and do not get the runs that you want. We were settled to get a good score but we ended up too many runs short. Indian bowlers did not give us anything, they were very disciplined and kept attacking the stumps, and it was hard scoring runs,” Samuels said at the post match press conference.

Samuels who top scored with 65 refused to blame the batsmen for playing bad shots and said the wicket was two-paced.

“I am not here to criticise anybody for playing a bad shot, that’s not my job to do. The pitch definitely is two-paced. The spinners got some to turn while there was awkward bounce, some balls kept low. So the bounce is not consistent but the pitch is still a good one,” said Samuels as he hoped to defend the modest total.

“While playing against India and batting first you need to score at least 400 runs. Nevertheless we have some runs on board and let India fight very hard to surpass the total,” said Samuels.

He also had words of praise for debutant Indian pacer Mohammad Shami who rocked the Windies batting line up taking 4/71.

“When he started off obviously he was nervous but as the game progressed he came to his own and did what he does best. He was in-swinging the ball and later got it to shape away. Future for young Shami is looking very good,” added Samuels.