World Twenty20: Win against Bangladesh boosts our Net Run Rate, says West Indies skipper Darren Sammy

West Indies had lost their opening match against India by seven wickets in a tough group, which also includes Australia and Pakistan. However, on Wednesday, they crushed hosts Bangladesh by 73 runs.

West Indies brought their ICC World Twenty20 title defence back on track with a 73-run win over Bangladesh on Tuesday and skipper Darren Sammy said the huge victory will give a boost to their net runrate in Group 2 of Super-10 stage. (Report )



West Indies had lost their opening match against India by seven wickets in a tough group, which also includes Australia and Pakistan. (

"We started off really well, Smith had to really graft. So he gave us the platform. The bowlers then bowled well. It is important that we won and it also boosted our NRR."

Dashing batsman Chris Gayle shunned his attacking game on Tuesday and scored a run-a-ball 48 after opening the innings with Dwayne Smith (72) to set the foundation for West Indies total of 171 for seven in Mipur.

Asked about Gayle, Sammy said: "Chris, this innings, he didn't score at the strike rate which we are used to, but the fact that he was there was important. The Bangladeshi captain brought Shakib very late because of him. In the next couple of games, i have no doubt he will get to his zone. I am not worried about him."

Sammy was also happy with the bench-strength of his team.

"The conditions are for slower bowling. Santokie and Badree started off very well. It is hard to leave someone like Ravi Rampaul out, but you saw what Santokie did. It is good to have that sort of bench strength," he said.

Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim said it was their fielding and batting which let them down on Wednesday.

"It was a disappointing effort - first with our fielding, because we gave away a lot of cheap runs. To chase 170 you need a good start, but we lost wickets early and it is difficult from there on," he said.

"Our bowling was good, but our fielding let down as we gave away 20 extra runs. We need bit better shot selection. If you lose three early wickets, you are on a back foot. It hurts (the recent losses) but the credit should also go the opposition players," Rahim said.

Dwayne Smith, who was the Man of the Match, said: "We have a good bowling attack, so it was important to put the runs on the board. Well done to our bowlers and our fielders.

"We had a very bad first game so we went and spent time in the nets to work hard on our mistakes. I am glad to see that Santokie performed well and hope he goes from strength to strength," he said.

Story first published on: Wednesday, 26 March 2014 12:11

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Shweta Pandey

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