'My dismissal before lunch set us back' - Blackwood

Jermaine Blackwood, whose innings of 62 and fourth-wicket partnership of 81 with Marlon Samuels were rare bright sparks in West Indies' first-innings total of 196, said the match could have changed complexion had he not been dismissed in the last over before lunch. Having been reduced to 7 for 3, West Indies had recovered to 88 for 3 when R Ashwin had Blackwood lbw with only three balls left in the session.

"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 said. "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."

Blackwood said the counterattacking approach he adopted from the time he stepped in was just his natural game. "That is just normally how I play, ever since I started playing. So that's my natural game. I try to score my first 20-25 runs quickly, and tried to use the pace of the ball. So that is how Jermaine Blackwood plays his game."

Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, had sprung something of a surprise at the toss, when he chose to bat on a damp, grassy pitch. Blackwood said there was nothing wrong with the decision to bat, but West Indies' batsmen simply hadn't batted well enough.

"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."