You were three down for 200 and then you lost 7 wickets in a heap, in the first innings. Was it the turning point?When you look back, in the first innings, we're in a very good position at one stage in terms of our bowling performance. But Ashwin-Saha stuck in, luck went their way, had a few questionable calls, fifty-fifty ones which went their way. From there, they were able to get a reasonable first innings total. When we came out to bat, we're obviously in a good position, but lost our way in the middle. We haven't been able to put up reasonable first innings totals which have hampered us in the recent past. If you don't put up a good first innings total, they you are chasing the game. We need to knuckle down as batsmen, we need to be accountable for our actions.
Your team is struggling with the top-order woes...At the top, predominantly we haven't been consistent, not getting starts we've been looking for. In the situation, the batsmen at the top need to come to the party, be a lot more consistent.
Your top-order has been misfiring, bowlers are finding it difficult to dismiss India twice... How difficult is it for you as a captain?It makes it difficult for anybody who is going to lead a team, when you're a bit inconsistent. India is in a position where they have consistent players. They have players who are doing well, so they can smile at the end of the day. For me it is a situation where we've been inconsistent for a number of years. We've got some very, very young players, we're trying to build a side, it's going to take time. You can only urge batsmen who get starts, the 20s and 30s, to carry on, convert to 50, move to 75 and then 100 and beyond. I think that's the only direction in which we can go. I must say that we have shown massive improvement in terms of the bowling. We got 10 wickets in the first innings and came back and got seven in the second, so we've shown improvement. We're three wickets away from taking 20. It is a situation where we need to knuckle down and make some runs.
On West Indies' young attackIt is going to be difficult. Test match cricket is very different from our first-class cricket at this point of time. I have had the privilege to play first-class cricket and I've also had the privilege to play Test cricket and I can see a vast disparity between the two. It is a situation where many of us coming to international cricket and are trying to learn on our job. It is definitely not easy, but it is something that we are faced with and I hope the guys can learn quickly. Hope that our guys' bodies are accustomed to the workloads of international cricket because it is far different from first-class cricket. For instance you get a first-class game where a fast bowler hardly bowls the amount of overs we have bowled in this series. For the last 5-10 years we have had spinners dominating first-class cricket in terms of wickets taken. So it is a transition that we have to try to open up and adjust to as quickly as possible. It is by no means easy and sometimes we dont make it easy for ourselves.
Did you think the batsmen played in a hurry?
I think the difference from here to Jamaica is that we also spent time but we didn't score. I think most of the batsmen have spent some time initially but they haven't tick over the scoreboard as well as we would like. I can't speak for every batsman and it is a situation where each batsman need to cope, how we are going to score and how we are going to occupy the crease. So sitting here is difficult to answer but all I can say is that the responsibility is on the batsmen at the present time.
What was the talk in the dressing room?At the beginning of the series, I made very clear that we need to show signs of improvement. We have had a really tough tour in Australia in terms of our bowling and I have seen significant improvements in terms of our bowling. We have been inconsistent with the bat for quite a while now this is a situation where we need to bring it all together in one game. You have to make steps forward and you just can't leap. As a baby you need to crawl before you can walk. Definitely winning is a priority but we need to put ourselves in position to win games but the only way we can do that is by taking 20 wickets and at least putting up a very good first innings total in terms of securing the draw and then push for win. But we haven't been able to put ourselves in those situations, to be quite frank. I think, moving forward, we need to be more consistent in terms of getting those first-innings total, 350-plus, obviously taking 10 wickets up front and coming back and taking the other 10. I think that's the direction in which we need to move on Ashwin.
He is obviously a quality bowler. I think, the beauty about Ashwin is that he makes you play a lot of deliveries. There are not many deliveries that you don't have to play and he has good variations as well. He is a clever bowler and he knows what he is about and he knows what he sets up to do. And he can set fields and bowl to them. That is, ideally, what Test cricket is about. Credit must be given to Ashwin. I think we played him reasonably well upfront. You know he has gotten a few five wicket hauls already, and as you said before he got five-wicket hauls against a few other teams as well. You cannot take anything away from a bowler like Ashwin.
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