KOLKATA – West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards says getting Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag out early would be the key to taking control in the second Test against India at Eden Gardens, starting Monday (11:30 p.m. Sunday Eastern Caribbean time).
“The plan is to get the openers out as early as possible. This is one way we can check the flow of runs,” said Edwards, who is gearing up for his 50th Test.
“Besides, having played as a unit in the previous Test, we need to push India further here as well to create some chances for ourselves.”
The West Indies are down 0-1 in the three Test series after losing the opener at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium earlier last week.
West Indies got the better of India over the first two days of the Test but lost their way to lose by five wickets inside four days.
“We pushed them in the first Test; we did well as a unit and fought well,” Edwards said.
“We have come here to play good cricket and hopefully we can push them again. You never know what’s going to happen.”
He said the techniques and styles of each opponent batsman was scrutinized in the Windies team meetings before a plan was decided.
“We try to chart a course, come up with a plan. We watch as much footage as we can. We try to stick to the plans,” said the 29-year-old.
“We’ve been doing well as a bowling unit. It’s mostly about sticking to our plans and bowling together every match, which helps to a certain extent in keeping the situation under control.”
The Barbadian said on the slow subcontinent wickets, bowling to players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman was more difficult.
“Now it’s of no use complaining since you need a smarter approach to succeed in these pitches,” Edwards said, adding he would focus on keeping it as straight as possible and extracting reverse swing. “I will hope the ball keeps low.” (CMC)
