IND vs WI Super 8s: 'David can beat Goliath again' - Darren Sammy

IND vs WI Super 8s: 'David can beat Goliath again' - Darren Sammy
KOLKATA: Daren Sammy may not be one of the best cricketers that West Indies has produced, but he is surely among the most eloquent. The coach got his message across loud and clear on Saturday: they are the underdogs but won’t give up without a fight.


“History could repeat itself,” he said referring to their win over India in the semifinals of the 2016 T20 World Cup, after a practice session on Saturday afternoon. “Although it was a different venue (Mumbai), and it’s two different teams, you know, two teams trying to move on in the tournament.”


“David did defeat Goliath (India) in 2016,” he continued with a gentle smile. “David can beat Goliath again and that’s what I am going to tell my boys.”

For that, he admitted, West Indies have to be very good in their execution. “We’ve got to play a good game of cricket in order to come out victorious,” he said.


Sammy is also aware that it is not just the Indian cricketers they’ll be up against. There’ll be 70,000 in the stands and another 1.4 billion across the country rooting for the Men in Blue. “We had to go through India some point to progress in the tournament and tomorrow is that day.”

And of course, the match being in Kolkata adds to the motivation. “Every time we come to Eden Gardens, it brings back good memories.”

For Sammy, it’s the memories of the 2016 triumph that keeps playing in his mind. The loss to South Africa was one bad day they are not going to keep brooding on.