Dominica, July 10: West Indies captainDarren Sammy was understandably pleased with the way his team fought back to save the Dominica Test even though they lost the series to India 0-1. Speaking to Ian Bishop at the post-match presentation, Sammy likened the draw to a win for his side.

Excerpts from the conversation:

On his reaction to the drawn result given that Ravi Rampaul could not bowl for much of the game

I am very pleased with the result but before I comment on that I’d just like to thank the Dominica cricketing public for coming out. I thought it was a Twenty20 [game]. And although we got a draw, it felt like it was a win. It shows that when we as a team go out and fight, the Caribbean people still love us. It was pleasing to see the public turn out and supports us. But looking at the Test match, a bowler short, one of our key bowlers too, to come out with a draw – it was very pleasing to see that this team is full of fighters and character.

On the batting finally having come good in the second innings of this Test match

Yes, the batting kept asking for that all season. It was good to see young debutant Kirk Edwards come up with a century and the veteran Shiv [Shivnarine Chanderpaul], the way he batted. We know what he is capable of doing and he proved today that he is still one of our better batsmen in the side.

On dropped catches having cost West Indies the series

Yes, dropped catches do happen in Test cricket. But throughout the series we didn’t score enough runs in the first innings. That actually pegged us back. But well done, we ended up on a positive side of this series. I would like to commend the guys, especially the bowling – the way they turned up in this series.

On the fighting spirit shown in the Dominica Test serving the team well in the future

I think that’s what the coach has been trying to instill in this team. He has a plan. The guys know what’s required of them. It’s good to see, slowly but surely, we’re doing the right things. As long as everybody puts their heads together and gets on board as to what the coach wants, for us, going forward, I can see better things for us in the future.

On whether he was surprised that India didn’t go for an outright win

Yes, I was kind of surprised. But at the end of the day we’re still happy with the result.