Skip to main content

'India has many match winners, won't focus on Virat only'

Mumbai: Swashbuckling West Indies opener Chris Gayle today conceded that India would start as favourites in the World T20 semifinal showdown here on Thursday as the home side have "many match-winners" but warned that the Caribbeans would also be plotting for an upset win.

World T20 - Complete Coverage

Talking to reporters after the West Indies team's practice session at the Brabourne stadium here, Gayle said that his side will also not focus only on Virat Kohli, who has been in sublime form in the tournament, but on the Indian team as a whole.

"India have come back with three wins after being one down. There have the momentum, there is no doubt about that and a lot of confidence coming into the semifinal game as well. It is very difficult to pinpoint one particular player in the Indian team. It is a very good all-round team, good fielding team as well," Gayle said.

"That's why India are the favourites. It is always going to be difficult to beat them here. But like I said, West Indies are ready for an upset," he added.

Kohli has single-handedly won two crucial matches for India -- against Pakistan and Australia -- and Gayle heaped praise on the star Indian batsman but said that the Caribbeans would also be wary on other home team players.

"No surprise there. I have said it over the years he (Virat) is going to be the world beater he is today. He has been fantastic right through the year. He is in good form and it is a good wicket (at Wankhede) as well, so anything is possible. We have to play to the situation accordingly, play within our strength and actually take it from there.

"We are not going to focus on only Virat, there are so many match-winners there and anyone of them can actually fire on any particular day. It is a huge team India, their batting line-up is superb. They have so many match-winners, like our team as well, we have a lot of match-winners too, it is not always going to be about me," said Gayle.

Gayle, who scored a record-breaking hundred against England, said he would wish that Kohli does not fire in the semifinal match.

"Virat is the man that stands out at this point in time.

Hopefully he won't get runs against us. I am hoping, please don't fire, Virat. He can still get runs but for a losing cause. We'll be happy with that as well," Gayle said in a lighter vein.



via Sify.com http://ift.tt/25vsJyz
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RB Leipzig's Jean-Kevin Augustin joins Leeds United on loan

Leeds [UK], Jan 27 (ANI): German football club RB Leipzig's Jean-Kevin Augustin on Monday joined Leeds United on a loan. The striker joins the Whites on an initial loan deal until the end of the season from Bundesliga outfit Red Bull Leipzig, the club said in a statement. Augustin joined the RB Leipzig in July, 2017 for a fee of 13 million Euros. The 22-year-old featured in both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League during his time with the German club, who finished sixth and third in his two seasons, where he scored 20 goals in 67 matches. French national helped his country win the European Under-19 Championship in 2016, where he scored the most number of goals and was adjudged as player of the tournament. Augustin is Leeds' third signing of the January transfer window following the joining of Elia Caprile and Ian Poveda. (ANI) via Sify.com https://ift.tt/2OiruB9
Post a Comment
Read more

Chelsea are a young team, need to improve a lot: Kovacic

London: Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic said they are a young team and need to improve a lot. Chelsea secured a 2-1 win over Hull City on Saturday in FA Cup. Michy Batshuayi scored the opening goal of the match in the sixth minute and Chelsea's second goal was scored in the 64th minute. "It was a tough game, as we knew that it would be, but we need to score in the first half two more goals. That's our problem in this moment but obviously we're happy to go through," the club's official website quoted Kovacic as saying. "It was because we didn't score on time - we had some chances and we didn't use them. In training, we are working on it but we are still a young team, a new team, and we need to improve a lot. We need to take our chances, which in this moment we are not doing great, but we have time to improve and I am sure we will do," he added. Chelsea are currently placed at the fourth position in the Premier League table with 40 points...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chelsea are a young team, need to improve a lot: Kovacic

London [UK], Jan 27 (ANI): Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic said they are a young team and need to improve a lot. Chelsea secured a 2-1 win over Hull City on Saturday in FA Cup. Michy Batshuayi scored the opening goal of the match in the sixth minute and Chelsea's second goal was scored in the 64th minute. "It was a tough game, as we knew that it would be, but we need to score in the first half two more goals. That's our problem in this moment but obviously we're happy to go through," the club's official website quoted Kovacic as saying. "It was because we didn't score on time - we had some chances and we didn't use them. In training, we are working on it but we are still a young team, a new team, and we need to improve a lot. We need to take our chances, which in this moment we are not doing great, but we have time to improve and I am sure we will do," he added. Chelsea are currently placed at the fourth position in the Premier League table ...
Post a Comment
Read more