“It’s us against the world” – Sammy sounds semifinal warning

Sammy went beyond the obvious when he was asked about the areas that needed improvement. “We haven’t played the perfect game yet,” he began, ominous-sounding. “We are stressing on rotation of strike and stuff. We are aware, it is clear that we are a big boundary-hitting team. We look at the dot-ball percentage, probably it is 40-50% for us, we could improve on that. So far, we have bowled really well in the tournament and on a few occasions, one batsman has taken responsibility. It is about continuing that way. It is going to be a 240-ball event. Like we say, it all about momentum. We are very aware India are a very good team at seizing momentum. Once we don’t let them win too many events in that 240 and seizing the momentum at that period of the match, we back ourselves to do that.”

In Samuel Badree, West Indies have the No. 1 T20I bowler in the world, the legspinner at once parsimonious and penetrative. “He is just difficult to hit,” said Sammy. “With him in the team, it is always a plus. He controls that Power Play so well. To have an economy of under 6 or just over 6 and bowling at least two or three overs in the Power Play, to do that over a period of time shows how consistent he is. Hopefully tomorrow, the No. 1 bowler bowls a champion spell.”