By Ashish Shukla
West Indies coach Ottis Gibson insisted that the explosive opener Chris Gayle does not figure in the team talks and that his entire energy was devoted to doing well against India in the second Test.
Published: Jul 02, 2011, 11:19 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 02, 2011, 11:19 AM (IST)
West Indies coach Ottis Gibson hoped his team would be given a reasonable target by the Indians on the final day of the second Test © AFP
By Ashish Shukla
Bridgetown (Barbados): July 2, 2011
West Indies coach Ottis Gibson insisted that the explosive opener Chris Gayle does not figure in the team talks and that his entire energy was devoted to doing well against India in the second Test.
Gayle is out of the national squad due to a row with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
“We don’t sit down and discuss Chris Gayle. We discuss how to get Dravid and Laxman out, how to stop Ishant Sharma from taking six wickets, how we can win the Test. We don’t talk about Gayle,” said Gibson after the controversial opener issued a statement in which he didn’t have complimentary things to say about Gibson.
“We are trying to build a team which is competitive and can start to win. Everyone has a part to play in it, including Gayle if he chooses. He knows the score but he’s choosing his own path,” he added.
Gibson hoped his team would be given a reasonable target by the Indians on the final day on Saturday.
“If they are generous and give us a target we can chase, it could make for a very interesting final day. We just have to be very positive and try and win this Test,” he said.
Gibson was also asked about the controversial catch, which Adrian Barath claimed against Rahul Dravid early on the fourth day’s play.
“When I first saw it, I thought it was out. When I saw the replay, it didn’t look so. Adrian himself wasn’t sure and he told the umpires. But in the end, the right decision was made.”
Dravid was on 10 when he flicked Darren Sammy to midwicket, where Barath scooped the catch. West Indies had begun celebrating when the matter was referred to third umpire and it eventually ended in batsman?s favour.
India finished the fourth day on 229 for 3, giving them an overall lead of 240 runs over West Indies.
Gibson was all praise for the way India’s new ball bowlers have bowled in this series.
“You have to give credit to the way Sharma and Kumar have bowled in this series. We sort of knew about Sharma but Kumar has been a real surprise package. He’s bowled really well.
“When you look at his record, he’s played 30-odd first class games and picked up 170 wickets. So either the standard of Ranji Trophy is not very good or he obviously is a very good player. I think he has proven himself to be a very good bowler,” he said.
© PTI
