Guwahati, Oct 1 (PTI) West Indies bowling coach Ravi Rampaul admitted their bowling execution was “not acceptable” as they failed to defend their record 405/7, with India chasing down the target in just 43.3 overs in the second ODI here. India captain Shubman Gill smashed the fastest ODI double century, an unbeaten 223 off 133 balls, while Rohit Sharma struck 101 off 75 balls as the duo shared a 255-run opening partnership to set up India’s eight-wicket victory on a flatbed here on Wednesday.
“Chasing down more than 400 runs in 43 overs is obviously not acceptable from our perspective, but it’s important to rebuild confidence and move forward,” Rampaul said during the post-match media interaction.
He also hailed India’s batting, particularly their exceptional start in the powerplay, which put the West Indies on the back foot from the outset.
“It was definitely a very good batting performance by the Indian team in their home conditions on a batting-friendly pitch. However, our bowlers weren’t consistent enough on a surface that suited batting, and our execution wasn’t up to the required standard,” he said.
“We were confident, but we also knew it was a good batting pitch and that we would have to bowl very well to defend that score. Having said that, the Indian batsmen played exceptionally well in the powerplay and put us on the back foot from the start. We were playing catch-up for the remainder of the game.”
Rampaul further said the pitch offered little assistance to the bowlers, but said the West Indies needed to execute their plans better.
“Flat pitches are common everywhere now, but this was especially batting-friendly. There was very little assistance for either the spinners or the fast bowlers. It’s tough for bowlers to come into such conditions and expect much help from the pitch,” he said.
Despite losing the series, Rampaul highlighted the performances of the West Indies batting unit.
The second ODI saw three of their batters score centuries — John Campbell (101), Shai Hope (104) and Amir Jangoo (114) — while Justin Greaves had struck a hundred in the series opener at Thiruvananthapuram, with Campbell and Jangoo also contributing half-centuries.
“Our batting unit has done a very good job. The experience the players gain from this series will be valuable when we head into the World Cup qualifiers. If we encounter similar pitches in the future, we will have more experience and a better understanding of how to execute our plans,” Rampaul said. PTI TAP BS
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