WEST Indies captain Darren Sammy says patience was a key ingredient in his creditable bowling performance that helped to dismiss India for 252 on yesterday’s third day of the gripping Digicel Test match at Sabina Park.

The tall medium-pacer took 4-52 off 27 overs as the home team fought valiantly to stay in contention. West Indies will resume today on 131-3, with 195 runs needed on a pitch that has severely tested the technique of both teams’ batsmen.

Speaking at a press conference after the day’s play, Sammy said he tried to bowl a tidy line and length to restrict the Indian batsmen.

“On any pitch you have to be patient and bowl in the right areas. It was important we restricted their scoring and not let them get off to a flyer. We were behind in the first innings so we had to restrict their scoring.

“My job was to bowl maidens and a lot of dot balls and that has been my job from I started my Test career. So it’s easy to bowl ball after ball in the right areas,” he said.

Sammy averages 17.22 with the bat and an impressive 27.66 with the ball in 13 Test matches since 2007. In his debut against England, Sammy ended with match figures of eight for 98 after grabbing seven wickets in the second innings.

Despite his decent Test record, Sammy has come under intense pressure from many cricket followers, who claim that him captaining the West Indies has cemented his place in the team and ultimately has affected its balance.

Those critics argue that his lower-order batting and steady medium pace is not good enough for him to be successful at the international level.

Further criticism came his way after he dropped Rahul Dravid on six at second slip during Tuesday’s afternoon session. Dravid went on to score an epic 112.

When asked about the dropped chance, Sammy expressed regret and deflected attention to the bowling effort that restricted the Indians for sub-300 scores in both innings.

“I didn’t sleep well last night at all knowing I dropped the ball. But I must commend the bowlers (because of) the way we stuck at it to bowl out India twice under 300. Dravid scored a 100 and they only scored 250, it shows me we have the bowlers. We must commend them, they worked hard,” said the 27-year-old St Lucian.

The skipper is fully aware of his own poor form with the bat, but felt optimistic that today could be his chance to live up to his billing as an all-rounder.