West Indies must build back from 27-all out, need to seize key moments against India: Warrican

Ahmedabad, Sep 30 (PTI) Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican knows that the West Indies must quickly move past the humiliation of being skittled for 27 in their last Test, stressing that seizing crucial moments will be key to competing in the two-match series against India.

The Caribbean team, which was bundled out for its lowest-ever Test total against Australia in July, will be up against another tough challenge against an on-song India in a two-Test series starting here Thursday.

"There's no team that ever wants to get bowled out for 23 or 24 or whatever it was. We have to take a lot of learning from that experience (and) we've also got to build back ourselves and learn from it," Warrican told media after a training session.

"It's very important to learn from it and try to move forward and show what we're capable of doing, because we competed against Australia but (there were) some key moments we didn't hold on to and they got the better of us." "Going forward, we have to really improve and know that we're playing against a top opposition, we have to seize the key moments in these games and hopefully we can improve and do a lot better in this series," he added.

Warrican said while it is impressive that touring left-arm spinners have done well against India in their backyard with Mitchell Santner being the most recent example for setting up New Zealand's remarkable win in the Pune Test last season, he does not want to read much into it. "It gives a lot of confidence (to) me as a left-arm spinner, but I'd say you got to play on the day, adapt to the condition and assess the situation ahead of you.

"Yes, it's impressive that left-arm spinners have done well against India, but I'd say you can't too much live in the past, you have to also be in the present and just focus on the job at hand." With the touring party going through rigorous training drills since their arrival here on September 24, Warrican expressed confidence they are prepared for the challenge.

"The guys have been putting in the hard work. We had two all-day sessions to get acclimatised. The batsmen have been doing a lot of drills, whether it be sweeping (against) spin (bowling), pulling off the back foot, (playing the) forward defensive (or the) lofted shot, just backing the game plan (against) the spinners or the pacers.

"The bowlers have been hitting their lengths at target very consistently, doing a lot of spot bowling as well, then taking that into bowling against the batsmen," he said.

Warrican said West Indies’ head coach and former captain Daren Sammy has been working to instil qualities of being free and enjoying their cricket.

"That is one of the messages the coach is really instilling in us -- to be free and back your game plans and enjoy your cricket.

"Anytime you step out on the field, don't be tense, don't put too much pressure on yourself, just try and enjoy the moment and live in the moment, just have some fun while you're playing, but still be aware of what's happening around you." Meanwhile, the West Indies were forced to hold an indoor session barely half-an-hour into their nets here on Tuesday due to passing showers, as rain threat continues to loom over the series opener.

West Indies top batters Shai Hope, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Brandon King went up against fast bowlers Jayden Seales and Justin Greaves as well as spinners skipper Roston Chase and Khary Pierre in the open nets. The visitors opted to face net bowlers for spin and used the bowling machine in the indoor nets. PTI DDV AT AT