Darren Sammy was a picture of varied emotions here on Thursday.
Arms flung skywards when half-chances went abegging, was a regular vignette.
There was also a warm segment when he clenched his palm and pressed his knuckles in a high-five with a relieved Rahul Dravid, after the latter had kicked the ball away from his stumps immediately before tea.
A few wickets, and…
The West Indies skipper was all smiles at the press conference too, but his words had a stern import. When asked whether the match was heading for a draw, he said: “I don't think so. A few wickets in the first session (on Friday) can change things. There is still a lot of time in this Test. If we have a 200 or 150 lead, we can look to set a target.”
Sammy cheekily hinted at some anxiety for an expectant crowd awaiting Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international century.
“This Test is very well poised and we have someone who is about to cross a massive landmark and we also have the opportunity to break a few Indian hearts. Hopefully, we'll stick to our line and length and be very disciplined.”
The West Indies skipper said Virender Sehwag's attacking style created wicket-taking opportunities for bowlers like him and as for the interlude with Dravid, Sammy said: “Normally, for warm-up we play football. Somehow we play bowlers versus batsmen. Kirk Edwards was always the goalkeeper and the bowlers can't seem to score.
“After Dravid kicked the ball, I said to Carlton Baugh ‘if Dravid and Kirk is in goal, we would not be able to score.' It was just pure football skills and he kept it out like a goalie would have kicked the ball out of the goal.”
Priorities
Gautam Gambhir, meanwhile, stressed that it was important to stave off the follow-on rather than focus on Tendulkar's milestone.
“The West Indies has set a very big target and it's important to save the follow-on and in that course if Sachin gets his hundred, it's good. The bigger goal is to think about the team and what we want to achieve out of this Test match which is more important,” the opener said.
Gambhir also gave a positive spin to the Indian team's chances and said: “We still feel there is a chance of winning. We have two quality spinners and once it starts spinning, it would be very difficult for the opposition. If we can get 500 or 550, we can still try and get a result from this Test.”
