Sammy's City of Joy: West Indies head coach hopes 'history can repeat itself'

Kolkata, Feb 28 (PTI) It is difficult not to love Darren Sammy, and the two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies skipper and current head coach knows that all too well.

Even as his team prepares to play India in a must-win Super Eights game, a 15-minute press meet with the Windies coach is bound to leave you in a better space and happier. He has that effect on people.

A decade ago, West Indies under Sammy's captaincy had knocked Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India out of the semi-finals of the 2016 edition.

Can history repeat itself on Sunday? "Well, I would say history can repeat itself. Although it was a different venue, but it's two different teams. Two teams trying to move on in the tournament," Sammy tried to keep it straight.

He then spoke about the real deal -- playing India in pressure-cooker scenario.

"You're absolutely right, I still think in order for you to win this tournament, you have to go through India at some point. Tomorrow is that day for us and we've got to play a good game of cricket in order to come out victorious. I'm excited for the contest," Sammy said.

With a blingy gold cross chain dangling round his neck, Sammy didn't look one bit like Pat Cummins but sounded eerily similar to how the Aussie captain had spoken on November 18, 2023, a day before the ODI World Cup final.

"I am pretty sure they will have 80,000 (67,000) here tomorrow and then another 1.4 billion supporting India. So it will still feel as a David and Goliath showdown, but like I said in 2016, David beat the Goliath. That's what I'm going to tell my boys tomorrow." But asked about Kolkata, which is for once not supporting the team it has lived to love over the years, Sammy showed why he is respected and adored wherever he goes.

"I love being here (Kolkata). They still stop by and say "best of luck." But I ask them (Kolkata fans), "do you mean it? And then they say, yes, whoever plays well." Sammy is a proud Caribbean, who knows that love for his team stems from the kind of cricket his illustrious predecessors displayed. It earned awe and respect.

"It is more or less, it says, you know, what our greats have done playing in India, like Clive Lloyd, Sir Viv (Richards) and those guys. You know, the mark they left on the Indian fans before, we are still benefiting from it." But he knows that after India, West Indies are the second most loved team in this country.

"But, yeah, I'm not surprised. Obviously, we are most people's second favourite team, but, you know, we're playing against, you know, their favourites. So the mindset of the camp is good." Sammy was very calm and feels that something special might just be round the corner.

"You know, I think it was here we started when I said, I feel something special is about to happen. I say so because of the focus I saw in the team, the mindset, the attention to detail, the attention to their preparation. And I still believe that." When a scribe asked in jest what dance number will his team groove to if they win on Saturday, Sammy gave an answer only he could have.

"I'm not sure about any song, but we do have our rituals we do when we win. I still don't know the words of the song, but I'm enjoying it. But, yeah, it will be a massive, massive, massive celebration for us to get through to the semifinals." But he won't mind if the West Indies bowlers make the Indian batters dance to their Calypso tune on Sunday? "What time is it? 7 o'clock? Yeah, in just over 26 hours, the bell will ring here at Kolkata, and the dance will start. That's where the dancing will happen on the cricket field. And, hopefully, west indies dance the best," Sammy said like only he can.

There was no malice but only love ahead of the battle. PTI KHS KHS AH AH