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Among the many diagnoses for South Africa’s failure to win a major tournament in almost two decades is the theory that they are simply too scared to take the final step.If that sounds silly, just consider that South Africa always have everything else waxed. Their preparations are among the best, their squad always includes some of the world’s best players, and they rarely enter an event without some form on their side. That’s why the likes of Herschelle Gibbs and Lance Klusener, who have been there and not done that, too, believe that if a South African side can avoid over-analysis and trust themselves to think on the fly, their fortunes will change.This time, they have a poster boy to lead the way: Quinton de Kock.At 24, de Kock is already being spoken of as a legend in the making, in the same breath as Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni. It’s not difficult to understand why. Last year, de Kock was South Africa’s highest ODI run-scorer and third globally. This year so far, he has been the second highest for South Africa, behind Faf du Plessis, and fourth overall.With de Kock in the side, South Africa have scored over 300 while chasing four times in the last three years. Barring one of those occasions – when he scored 19 in South Africa’s successful chase of 328 against Australia in Harare – de Kock set them up each time. He slammed 70 off 49 balls in a chase of 372 against Australia in Durban in October 2016. . He did better against England, plundering a century in Centurion last February, and more recently, striking 98 , albeit in a losing cause.The last of those illustrates best the importance of de Kock’s role in the South African line-up. Like every opener, he sets the tone, but seldom pre-empts what that will be. He is talented enough to pull off the spontaneous approach, something South Africa have been specifically working on in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy.”It’s those pressure moments that we identify to make sure we stay in that moment and don’t think too far ahead,” JP Duminy said. “That’s what we’ve learnt over the last couple of weeks – to stay in the moment and focus on what is in front of you and not look too far ahead about the outcome of the game.”JP Duminy, who has gone 11 innings without a half-century, has gone out of the way to prepare for the Champions Trophy•Getty Images

Duminy is speaking from the opposite end of the spectrum. He enters the Champions Trophy under immense pressure, having failed to pass 50 in 11 innings this year. He has made more than 30 only once in that period. This is not the first time he has had such an extended dry run; between July 2015 and June 2016, too, he went 11 innings without a half-century, but had four scores of 30 or more. The close proximity of the lean patches has him hanging on to his place by a thread, and though he would not explicitly say so, it seems he knows it.Instead of spending the period between the end of the South African summer and the start of the English one at the IPL, Duminy opted to stay at home and work on his game. “I put in a lot of hard work in the six weeks I was off,” he said. “The main thing was to try and be mentally fresh for this tournament and what lies ahead on this tour.””I’m feeling that I’ve achieved that. In terms of my skills, there were one or two things I worked on that I felt needed a bit of work. I don’t feel like there’s added pressure. There’s always high expectation within the team and my expectation on myself in terms of my performance is always high. That will never change.”The difference is that Duminy has fallen short of expectation too often, while de Kock has recently begun to exceed it. As a result, the responsibility in the South African batting line-up has shifted somewhat, though Duminy insists the division is the same. “Whether you’re a youngster, whether you’re a senior player, I don’t think that (the responsibility) changes,” he said.Ultimately, the entire South African squad has a responsibility to return home with something to show for their No.1 ranking and the star-studded line-up. They have a responsibility to show that something has changed, that the oft-spoken of conservative mindsets are really in the past and that the shackles have been broken. And they all know it.”We don’t want to put extra pressure on ourselves by thinking that we need to win this tournament but we definitely want to,” Duminy said. “I don’t think there’s any other team that wants it more.”

Listed No. 1 in the ICC rankings for bowlers in ODIs and T20Is, Imran Tahir was “sad” and “down” after going unsold at the IPL auction two months ago. But an injury to Mitchell Marsh opened a door for Tahir: he was signed as a replacement and shone with 3 for 28 in Rising Pune Supergiant’s seven-wicket win in their opening match against Mumbai Indians.After Mumbai raced to 41 for 0 in four overs with consecutive sixes from Jos Buttler, Steven Smith brought on Tahir, who bowled Parthiv Patel around his legs and then removed Rohit Sharma and Buttler within the space of three balls in his next over.”The way they were playing it looked like they were going to end up getting 200,” Tahir told after the match. “I always love challenges, and when I bowl I always look to get wickets. I was very fortunate to get Patel out and obviously, the next two wickets were very special. Those guys were really good against spin bowling and it was very special for me that I got them out and [I’m] really, really happy with the way the ball came out. I’ve been here for one week and I’m trying to do well because it’s a new team and they gave me a lot of confidence.”I always come on the ground with a smile on the face but inside I’m always ready to fight and try to give as much as I can. I love doing what I’m doing and I always look for a challenge.”Tahir expressed how disappointed he was when no franchise picked him at the auction in February, when he had a base price of INR 50 lakhs. He had been released by Delhi Daredevils after an unimpressive IPL last year, playing four matches for five wickets with an economy rate of 8.62.”I was obviously sad not to be part of this league [in the auction] but there’s nothing I can do about it,” Tahir said. “But really relieved and pleased with myself about playing the way I’ve been playing and just deliver it today.”I’m grateful to god and my family supported me, especially my wife. I was quite down when I didn’t get picked in the league. But our life carries on and I came here to prove myself again, that’s what my job is. I don’t blame no one for not picking me. My job, if someone picks me, is to come and perform, that’s what we do for a living.””I always come on the ground with a smile on the face but inside I’m always ready to fight”•BCCI

Supergiant played two legspinners – Tahir and Adam Zampa – in the absence of R Ashwin and left out Faf du Plessis from the XI. Zampa, their highest wicket-taker last season, did not impress as much as Tahir on Thursday, with 1 for 26 from three overs, but Ajinkya Rahane said the strategy of playing two attacking legspinners worked for them.”Both of them are attacking, both of them look to take wickets, and that’s very important in T20,” Rahane said. “Zampa did well for us last year, and Imran Tahir is a world-class bowler. It’s good to have them both in our side, and we, as a team, know they’re always looking to take wickets.”Rahane gave Supergiant’s chase of 185 impetus, scoring 60 off 34 that featured six fours and three sixes. He brought up his half-century off only 27 balls; Supergiant were 79 for 1 in the ninth over.”When you’re chasing 180-190, it’s important to continue the momentum after the first six overs,” Rahane said. “I knew I was batting really well, and striking the ball well. So, for me, it was really important to play with that same momentum. Smith was completely new [on the pitch] at that time. So, I just wanted to take my chances and play my normal shots. I mean, I didn’t take any risks. But it was important for both of us to keep rotating the strike and hit one boundary or six in an over.”When you are chasing 180 plus, it’s the openers’ job to consolidate the innings. For me and Mayank [Agarwal], our discussion was to play positive cricket. We did not set any target for the first six overs. We just wanted to play our attacking game, and later on just capitalise on that. Unfortunately, he got out, but I was batting well. And Smith was there, I told him I’ll take my chances, and he should just carry on and play a long innings.”

Delhi Daredevils batsman Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out for at least a week with a bout of chickenpox. Iyer, who is recuperating at home in Mumbai, will miss Daredevils’ season-opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 8, and is also likely to sit out their second match, against Rising Pune Supergiant on April 11.Iyer’s illness adds to a growing list of unavailable Daredevils players. Wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has been ruled out for the entire season with a finger injury, middle-order batsman JP Duminy has pulled out due to personal reasons, and the allrounder Angelo Mathews is also expected to miss a large chunk of the season while recovering from hamstring and calf injuries.Iyer, who recently earned a call-up to India’s Test squad as cover for the injured Virat Kohli, has played two IPL seasons for Daredevils. He was their top run-getter in 2015, with 439 at an average of 33.76 and a strike rate of 128.36, and endured a difficult 2016, with only 30 runs from six innings, including three ducks.

Ross Taylor has suffered a low grade tear of the right calf but will bat if required in the Dunedin Test against South Africa. There is no word on whether he will be able to take any further part in the series.Taylor underwent a scan on Friday morning and had a short net session, after limping off the field in the 43rd over in the second day when he was 8. He received treatment overnight, which included icing on the area, and remains restricted in his movements.He can resume his first innings at any time, but will only be able to bat at five down – or when the time he has spent off the field as elapsed – in the second.After the second day’s play, Taylor’s team-mate Trent Boult admitted the team were concerned about his injury, his second in the same area in less than three years. Taylor missed a three-match ODI series against South Africa in 2014 for the same reason. “It’s a shame for us. He is a big player,” Boult said. “He is obviously disappointed. The way he walked off, it doesn’t look too good. We will see tomorrow.”Taylor is New Zealand’s second-highest Test century-maker on 16, one behind his mentor Martin Crowe. Earlier this season he became their leading century-marker in ODIs, but has lost his place in the T20 side.If this Test goes the duration there are only three days before the second Test starts in Wellington on March 16, which gives New Zealand six days to name a replacement if necessary. One man they cannot turn to is Martin Guptill, who will need six weeks of rehabilitation on his hamstrings ahead of the Champions Trophy. Colin Munro, Neil Broom and Dean Brownlie are believed to be in contention for a call-up if needed.

Mushfiqur Rahim has said that his role as Bangladesh’s Test captain is open for “analysis” by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) but he is happy to continue in the triple role of wicketkeeper, batsman and captain. While there was always the odd question about his captaincy since he abruptly quit the ODI post in 2013, the criticism has increased since 2015 and it flowed into the Hyderabad Test, where his wicketkeeping also came under the scanner.After his proficient 127 in the first innings that kept Bangladesh in the game, it has become evident that his role as a dependable middle-order batsman is gaining importance.Mushfiqur, however, has said that since the BCB has entrusted him with the three roles since 2011, he will happily oblige as long as they decide otherwise.”My average is not more than 33 or 34, so how can I be the No. 1 batsman of Bangladesh? If you are entrusted with two or three roles, that means the management has shown faith in you,” he said. “So I need to deliver in all three departments. If I am not doing well, it’s up to the board to take a call on my future.”At the moment, I am enjoying what I am doing – I love to spend time in the middle and the way you can do your job is to spend time in the middle rather than in the dressing room. There are people who are sitting outside [BCB officials] who can take a decision but as far as I am concerned, I am happy to do all three. Captaincy is not in my hands. The board can analyse and take a call.”During India’s first innings, Mushfiqur made some errors as a wicketkeeper and captain, chiefly the missed stumping of Wriddhiman Saha when he was on 4. He also used Shakib Al Hasan for only 24 of the 166 overs. Although Shakib was expensive, he was used at times when Bangladesh were looking for wickets, so his high economy rate was justifiable at the time. According to Mushfiqur, they wanted Shakib to bowl high-impact spells rather than the long ones, which became the job of the two young spinners.Mushfiqur had given Wriddhiman Saha a reprieve in the first innings•AFP

“Our spinners led the bowling attack. The team management and I felt that Taijul Islam and Mehedi [Hasan] Miraz did their job properly, so we kept faith in them. It depends on who is bowling well on the particular day. I thought Taijul and Miraz were bowling well in partnership.”We want Shakib to bowl as much as it is useful to the team. He is not in a position to bowl a long spell. We want him to provide us a breakthrough. The rest of the work is for the other bowlers. We are happy with Shakib’s bowling. I thought he bowled well in the second innings.”It was surprising to hear of this new role for Shakib, who is the most experienced bowler in the line-up and someone with a proven capability of stemming the run-flow. Taijul and Mehedi ended up bowling 89 overs in which they took five wickets at an economy of 3.6 per over.Mushfiqur said that India should have been restricted to 550 in the first innings to give Bangladesh less batting time against their spinners in the second innings, pointing out that the bowling unit and top order in particular had to quickly make amends.”If we could have restricted them to 550 at least, they would have had to bat another session which means we would have batted three sessions instead of four in the second innings,” he said. “In that area, we gave 170 runs more. Also while batting, if someone from the top four could have gone big, we could have got closer. That first innings was crucial.”We need to execute our plans as a bowling unit. I hope the bowlers learn quickly. In the end, you need to take wickets to put pressure on other teams.”

Aaron Finch will lead Australia in their upcoming Twenty20 international series against Sri Lanka in the absence of captain Steven Smith and vice-captain David Warner. The remainder of Australia’s T20 squad will be named on Wednesday morning, and there will be plenty of space for fresh faces due to the timing clash with Australia’s Test tour of India.Smith, Warner, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh are among the players who will be preparing for the Test series and therefore unavailable. Australia find themselves in the highly unusual situation of playing a T20 international – the final match in the series against Sri Lanka – in Adelaide on February 22, and a Test in India the following day.The cramped fixture has left some members of Australia’s team unhappy; Warner notably described it as “very, very poor scheduling”. However, the situation means that Finch will take over the captaincy for the three-match series, a year after he lost the T20 captaincy to Smith as Australia sought to unite the leadership in all three formats.”It’s very exciting to be back and leading the side in Steve’s absence,” said Finch, who also led Australia in Monday’s ODI against New Zealand in Auckland after stand-in skipper Matthew Wade was a late withdrawal due to injury.With David Warner and Steven Smith preparing for the India tour, Aaron Finch will take over as T20I captain a year after he lost the role•Getty Images

“It’s been a rollercoaster from being captain leading up to the ICC World Twenty20 (in 2016), being injured and then Steve taking over the reins for that tournament but it’s something that, any time you get the chance to captain your country in any format, you’re very chuffed about.”We’ll be missing some big names, some of the biggest in world cricket, but you can’t dwell on that and it will be a fantastic opportunity for guys who’ve performed well in the KFC Big Bash League to push their case for further inclusion, and inclusion in the other formats too.”Interim national selector Trevor Hohns said: “In the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner amongst others, we believe Aaron is the logical choice to lead the side. He’s done it before and he has a great deal of experience in the format as both a captain and a batsman.”When the squad is selected for this series we, as selectors, will obviously have one eye on the present and also one eye on the future, with the next ICC World Twenty20 scheduled to take place in Australia. The KFC Big Bash League has given us the opportunity to see plenty of exciting talent and it means we will have plenty to consider when we chose the players to join Aaron in the squad.”The Test tour of India not only robs Australia of several of its best players but also of its coaching staff. Justin Langer will step in as acting head coach for the Sri Lanka series, with Ricky Ponting and Jason Gillespie as his assistants. The series begins at the MCG on February 17 and also incorporates the first ever men’s international match in Geelong.

Jamaica captain, left-arm spinner Nikita Miller, took 9 for 41 in the second innings as his team beat Trinidad & Tobago by 132 runs at Sabina Park in Kingston. Miller had taken nine consecutive wickets, the last of which came in the 55th over, but narrowly missed out on a possible ten-wicket haul when Roshon Primus was trapped in front by Damion Jacobs off the last ball of the 56th.Miller’s effort came after T&T legspinner Imran Khan had run through Jamaica’s lower order earlier in the day. Having resumed the day on 148 for 4, with a lead of 256, Jamaica lost overnight batsman Jermaine Blackwood for 81 in the second over. He was trapped in front by offspinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar who also removed the other overnight batsman, Devon Thomas. Imran then took the last four wickets to complete his second five-wicket haul of the season and bowl Jamaica out for 229.Imran was then promoted to open the batting for T&T, from where he scored 52 and was involved in a brisk stand of 76 with Kyle Hope. But there was to be only one other half-century stand in the innings, a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket between Yannic Cariah and Yannick Ottley; courtesy Miller, T&T had collapses of 4 for 47 and 6 for 32 on either side of that to fold for 205 in their chase of 338.Speaking to the after the match, Miller said he had gone about business as usual. “They got off to a flyer in the chase, but I was not really worried,” he said. “I just tried to put the ball in the right areas. I was not expecting nine wickets, but it worked out well for me and I got my best-ever haul.”Miller had taken three wickets in the first innings, while legspinner Jacobs picked up four, ensuring Jamaica had the comfortable advantage of 108 runs after the teams’ first innings. For T&T, Jason Mohammed was left stranded on 91 not out in that innings, as the team was bowled out for 206 in response to Jamaica’s 314. The hosts’ total was built on half-centuries from Andre McCarthy and Brandon King.Windward Islands captain Liam Sebastien’s Man-of-the-Match performance helped his side defeat Leeward Islands and register their first outright win of the season at Windsor Park in Roseau. The allrounder was at the forefront of an impressive comeback by Windward Islands – they recovered from 48 for 7 on the first day, to win the match by 94 runs.Sebastien had led his team back from that precarious position on the first day with an unbeaten 82, after fast bowlers Gavin Tonge and Alzarri Joseph had torn through the batting following Leeward Islands’ decision to bowl. During his knock, Sebastien forged consecutive fifty-plus partnerships with the last three batsmen – 78, 70 and 97. He played second fiddle in the last two, where No. 10, Delorn Johnson (56 off 44), and No. 11, Mervin Matthew (73 off 53), made career-best scores to lift their total to 293.In response, only two Leeward Islands batsmen made significant contributions – Montcin Hodge with 76, and Jahmar Hamilton with 94 – as Shane Shillingford (5 for 96) combined with Sebastien (4 for 78) to bowl them out for 259 and take the lead. Sebastien wasn’t required to bat in the second innings as Windward Islands scored at over four per over on the back of ninty-somethings from Tyrone Theophile (96) and Sunil Ambris (91) to declare on 333 for 8 and set Leeward 368 to win.Hamilton added to his first-innings 94 with a 134-ball 125 but once again found little in terms of partners. Kieran Powell and Chesney Hughes got out in the forties, and Hodge made another start, but no one else got into double digits as Leeward folded for 273. Sebastien took 4 for 67 to finish with eight in the match.Shivnarine Chanderpaul nicked behind for 100 in the first innings•WICB

Guyana conceded the top spot to Jamaica after playing out a draw with Barbados at the Providence. Barbados are placed third, just 0.8 behind Guyana.Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 72nd first-class hundred – 100 off 141 balls including 13 fours – was instrumental in handing Guyana the first-innings advantage. His first ton of the season took Guyana to 311 on the first day.Having opted to bat, the hosts lost Rajendra Chandrika and captain Leon Johnson early, but Shimron Hetmyer (60) and Vishaul Singh (40) gave Chanderpaul a decent platform. Chanderpaul then batted for 245 minutes, before he was the ninth batsman to dismissed. Gudakesh Motie, the No. 10, contributed 36 off 89 balls.In reply, Barbados lost both their openers within five overs. Shai Hope and Roston Chase then perked up the side with half-centuries, but the loss of the last six wickets for 78 runs meant they conceded a 23-run lead.Guyana then subsided to 137 all-out in 35.2 overs, with Hetmyer contributing almost half of the total. Offspinning allrounder Chase did the bulk of the damage, claiming figures of 5 for 41. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican supported him with three wickets. Chasing 161, Barbados were reduced to 11 for 3 in 3.2 overs, but Chase and Shamarh Brooks hung onto secure a draw and 9.8 points for their team.

Tamim Iqbal can play in Chittagong Vikings’ first match of this season’s Bangladesh Premier League. The tournament’s member-secretary Ismail Haider Mallick has said the one-match domestic suspension Tamim picked up during the Dhaka Premier League only applied to 50-over matches.”Tamim will be suspended for the next 50-overs domestic match since he was handed the punishment during the Dhaka Premier League,” Mallick said. “This [BPL] is a franchise league. If he was to be suspended, we would have mentioned it during the players’ draft. He can play tomorrow.”A three-member special committee formed by the BCB suspended and fined Tamim at the end of last season’s Dhaka Premier League for his involvement in an incident with the umpires during Abahani Limited’s match against Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club on June 13. A BCB press release dated June 22 had said that, “for breaching the code of conduct for players during the match, Abahani Limited captain Tamim Iqbal Khan has been fined BDT one lac and also suspended for one domestic tournament match”.Since Tamim hadn’t been in Chittagong Division’s National Cricket League squad last month, it seemed that his suspension would apply for his team’s first match in the BPL, since this is the first domestic tournament he has been available for since the DPL, but the BPL’s governing council has interpreted it differently.

Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak lost his gruntle. While Zimbabwe was able to take heart from the way they resisted defeat during the Test series, Streak opened the press conference after his side’s eight-wicket thrashing in the tri-series opener by admitting: “I won’t have too many positives today.”Streak seemed particularly vexed by the white flag Zimbabwe raised through their body language. “Your positivity and your mental outlook is affected by your body language and how you’re thinking,” Streak said. “Yes, you may not feel you’ve got enough runs on the board but it doesn’t stop you going out there and being positive and aggressive and supporting your team-mates. Diving around and getting energy going. You don’t need talent to do that. Those are things that anyone can do.”It’s something we talk about a lot, the scoreboard not impacting on your actions and your outlook on what you’re trying to achieve out there. But often it does and for people outside – media, supporters – they see that probably more than the players do inside. It’s certainly something that I’m putting a high priority on addressing.”Though Zimbabwe’s 154 was woefully under par, the tri-series opener really seemed to turn on the first ball of Zimbabwe’s bowling effort. Tinashe Panyangara, returning to the side after overcoming a back injury that kept him out of the squad since June, produced a delivery that curled away to take Dhananjaya de Silva’s outside edge. Almost immediately, however, Umpire Tiffin called a no-ball, and just as quickly Zimbabwe’s vim disappeared. The free-hit was clumped to midwicket, and the floodgates opened. Despite helpful conditions, the bowlers could make nothing more of the game.De Silva, Man of the Match for his unbeaten 78, admitted his dismissal at that stage could “very much” have made a difference to the result. “The ball was seaming around and if I had got out at that time, maybe three or more wickets would have fallen,” de Silva said.’Some guys just threw their wickets away. They could have achieved 200 or 220 and that would have given them a good chance’ – Dhananjaya de Silva•Associated Press

De Silva, who struck a fifty and a ton in the Tests, suggested Sri Lanka too was surprised by the depths of Zimbabwe’s batting woes. “Some guys just threw their wickets away. They could have achieved 200 or 220 and that would have given them a good chance to come back into the game.”No need to tell Streak that. “Certainly we had the tougher side of the batting, but when you look back, bar Chari no one really got a ball that they can say was an unplayable delivery,” Streak said. “Yes, conditions were in their favour, but there were not enough people coming in and saying they got out to a good ball.Despite batting on a green pitch and under gloomy skies in the morning that aided swing, Streak refused to blame the conditions – or the toss – for his team’s collapse. “Having had late rain yesterday, the covers came off late, and we had a bit of drizzle [this morning]. Losing the toss wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t any excuse for how we performed.”The toss has always been in the game of cricket and that’s not something you can guarantee. If you can only win cricket matches when you win the toss then there’s a serious issue to address. For me, today there was an advantage to the toss that would have made it 60-40 in favour of whoever wins the toss, but there are still no excuses for a batting performance like that. PJ Moor and some of the lower order guys like Cremer and Tiripano showed that when you applied yourself there were runs to be scored.”Still, Zimbabwe has three more games to play, and those will be in Bulawayo – Streak’s hometown and conditions he is familiar with. “I said to the guys the only positive for me is that we’ve got three more games,” Streak said.”There weren’t really many other positives. The reality is that we have to bat, bowl and field better than we did today otherwise we’re not going to feature in this series. It’s certainly within their own hands. There’s also lots of work for me and the coaching staff to do, but we talk about people taking responsibility and when you say that generally you’re looking at your senior players to do that. They’re going to have to start putting their hands up.”

Of the 103.2 overs India have bowled to West Indies so far in the Antigua Test, 34 have been maidens. Umesh Yadav, who took four wickets in the first innings to help India enforce the follow-on, said bowling maidens has been a central part of their plans for the tour, given the predominance of slow pitches in the Caribbean.”When we came to the ground and saw the wicket, we realised we won’t get wickets where the ball will seam or swing,” Umesh said, at the end of the third day’s play. “We knew the conditions would be pretty hard, especially because it was going to be hot as well.”The main thing we planned was to bowl as many maidens as possible, and not give easy boundaries. Whether it’s the coach [Anil Kumble] or Virat [Kohli, the captain], the whole team sits and discusses the same thing, that it won’t be easy to take 20 wickets, and so it becomes very important to plan. And it can’t end there. If it’s said in the meeting that we have to bowl maidens, then we have to bowl maidens, because we know we won’t take 20 wickets otherwise.”India’s bowlers, according to Umesh, made a conscious effort to not relax after their batsmen had piled up 566 in the first innings. “We don’t look at it like we have 566,” he said. “We look at it like we have only made 350, and the earlier we bowl them out, the better it is for us in the second innings. Our effort was that, if we got them out by the end of today, we would have two more days to bowl them out again.”India went into the Test with three genuine fast bowlers, and five frontline bowlers in all, and Umesh praised the chemistry among them.”We always give that kind of confidence to each other, always we are pushing [each other],” he said. “Whenever things are a little difficult, we need to push our friend or team-mate a little bit, and lift them. When we see, for example, that [Mohammed] Shami is bowling very well but he’s not getting wickets, my job is, I go to him and say, “Shami, you’re bowling very well, keep going.” Because I know that if someone is bowling well from one end, then it helps the person at the second end, so if we don’t plan and bowl as a combination, it becomes difficult for us. Main thing is, you push each other and complement each other, and recognise that, “yeah, it’s not my day today [to take wickets], it’s your day”.Shami, playing his first Test in over a year-and-a-half after returning from a long-term knee injury, also took four wickets in West Indies’ first innings. Umesh said the team never doubted whether Shami would come back successfully.”There was no doubt about it, because he’s a natural bowler. We never thought he’ll struggle. If he struggled, it was only until he had recovered from his injury. No one has to tell him, bowl here, bowl like this. He’s a smart bowler, he’s got everything – outswing, inswing, bouncers.”