IT WILL TAKE a major upset for the West Indies to prove more than whipping boys when their tour of India gets under way today with the first of five one-day internationals, but Darren Sammy is hoping Indian Premier League (IPL) experience can make the difference for the tourists.

The West Indies were in India last year, losing all three Tests and two of the three ODIs, and memories of that series have led to a rather limp build-up to this – with the general assumption being that a similar result is on the cards.
But while the difference in the Tests was clear to see, Sammy pointed out that they were much closer in the 50-over format of the game, only losing the series on the final day.
“We have got a lot of guys who are match-winners and hopefully we get a chance to execute that,” Sammy said in a media briefing.
“The last ODI series here we lost 2-1. We went into the final ODI 1-1. It could have gone any way. Hopefully, this time around it would be even more keenly contested and finally we can beat India in India.”
Tours of the sub-continent can prove a challenge for so many teams given the change in conditions, but Sammy reckons the extensive IPL experience within the West Indies team gives them a significant boost.
“In terms of knowing the conditions, IPL has been a massive asset to us,” he said.
“Most of our guys have played here and they are used to the conditions here. It is good to come back and know what you are going to be faced with, but with that said it is a different time, too, to the IPL. The pitches could be different.”
However, the absence of Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine hardly helps, and the West Indies will need to be at their best to pull off a result.
For India, the biggest danger would be to pay too much attention to the upcoming World Cup, with this their last ODI series before they head to Australia.
Opener Rohit Sharma is missing again through injury, giving a further chance to Ajinkya Rahane after his first ODI ton came in the series win over England, and India will be keen to resolve the question of their opening pair before this series is over.
“We want to see the bigger picture here,” captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.
“We want to do a few things because you don’t want to go to Australia and say ‘we should have done this, we should have done that’. We will see what our cricketers can offer … but it is important to start well and look to win the series.”

(EUROSPORT)