Blackwood reckons his dismissal before lunch put India back in ascendancy

Kingston, July 31 (ANI): West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood believes that his side would have been in a much better position had he not been dismissed before lunch on day one of the second Test against India at Sabina Park. West Indies endured a horror start after electing to bat first as they were reeling at 7 for 3 before Marlon Samuels (37) and Blackwood steadied the ship with a fourth-wicket partnership of 81. Blackwood, who himself was under pressure to perform following a string of failures, adopted a counterattacking approach and scored a run-a-ball 62 before he was trapped lbw by Ravichandran Ashwin in the last over before lunch. "When I went out [to bat], he [Samuels] was just giving me a lot of advice about staying positive and running well between the wickets and try to score runs and wear down the bowlers," Blackwood was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "As scoring chances came, I played my shots. If I had come back after lunch, it would have been a different ball game, because me and Marlon had a nice partnership. For me to get out, it set the team back and put the bowlers back on top. So I guess you have to learn from your mistakes." India's ascendancy over the West Indies continued as they bundled out Jason Holder's team for 196 before making 126 for 1 in their first innings at stumps at Sabina Park on Saturday. The 24-year-old aggressive batsman also defended his captain Jason Holder's decision to bat first on a damp and grassy pitch, which is considered as conducive for fast bowlers and admitted his side's batsman should have instead applied themselves to the conditions. "Normally, at Sabina Park, the wicket is going to have a little bit in it for the pace bowlers for a couple hours. This track is different and has some grass, so they will get assistance right through the match for pace bowlers. It wasn't a wrong decision to bat first, but we just didn't bat for a long period. I guess next time we will have to do that," he said. (ANI)