"It's just a matter for us to take a few balls at first and get ourselves set and then we take it as the innings goes on": Holder © AFP

The washed-out ODI series opener in Guyana was a mixed bag for the hosts West Indies. Chris Gayle, in his 299th ODI, played a rather uncharacteristic 31-ball knock worth four runs, while his opening partner Evin Lewis, after two ducks and overall 10 runs in the three-match T20I series, returned to form with a brisk 36-ball 40. Skipper Jason Holder, however, was equally pleased with both given West Indies have a tendency to implode early in their innings.

"I think in the past we have let ourselves down in having a foundation," Holder said on the eve of the second ODI in Trinidad, on Saturday, stressing further on the importance of a cautious start. "It's just a matter for us to take a few balls at first and get ourselves set and then we take it as the innings goes on.

"Definitely happy to see Evin get some time in the middle," Holder said of his opener who showed encouraging signs with the bat. "He didn't get the runs he was looking for in the T20 format but it's good to see him get into form in Guyana and hopefully he can transfer that performance here as well."

If he makes it to the playing eleven, the second game of the three-match series will be Gayle's 300th ODI, making him the first West Indian cricketer to reach the landmark in the format. Holder lauded Gayle for the milestone and hoped he can put all his experience in getting West Indies off to a favourable start. "300 games is a lot of games," Holder said. "Some of us in the dressing room can't even imagine that. We just hope he can get us off to a really good start tomorrow."

Though it rained on the eve of the match, West Indies skipper did manage a glance at the pitch and remains hopeful that Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad will offer good batting conditions. "It's normally pretty humid." Holder noted. "The wicket is a decent one, hopefully the rain stays away and it doesn't get too soggy. The pitch normally is a very good pitch here. The conditions should be really good tomorrow. We've got to see how the pitch plays, but ideally in one-day cricket, 300 runs is the benchmark. We'll see how it all plays out tomorrow."

Holder pinned his hopes on his bowling unit and is confident in their capabilities to challenge India's strong batting line-up. "We got to put pressure [on the batsmen] and try to get as deep into their batting line-up. The wickets nowadays are very good for batting. It tends to play a little bit more in the batsmen's favour. [But] we've been doing a really good job, especially in the World Cup I thought our bowlers did a great job, and [we'll look to] just continue from there and just try to be consistent," he signed off.