New Delhi, Nov 7: A stunning batting collapse has left India in a precarious position in the opening Test against the West Indies but opener Virender Sehwag says it is nothing to be worried about as the hosts are confident of bundling out the visitors for 150 or less.
Sehwag, who top-scored with a 46-ball 55 in India's 209 all out, refused to blame the wicket for his side's collapse, saying that the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium pitch was still good to bat on.
"It happens in Test cricket. Gautam Gambhir's run out and my dismissal through stumping I think were soft dismissals. Then Sachin (Tendulkar) and VVS Laxman were out and we were all out. We have to be careful in the second innings. We cannot repeat the mistakes," Sehwag told reporters after the second day's play.
"I don't think that the wicket is to be blamed (for the collapse). The pitch is still good to bat though it is a bit low in bounce. We are confident of chasing 250 to 300 runs (in the fourth innings)," he said.
Asked about West Indies captain Darren Sammy saying that the visitors would look to score another 250 more so that India get more than 350 target to win, Sehwag said, "There is difference in saying and doing it actually. We are looking at bundling them out around 150."
"The Test is still on the same keel and we have to be patient and wait for loose balls in the fourth innings," he added.
Sehwag, however, conceded that the home side batsmen committed mistakes leading to their collapse and said that they would have to be "careful" in the second essay.
Asked if either he or Gambhir should have played slow instead of being too aggressive, considering the batting collapse began once they were out, Sehwag said, "My job is to play shots whenever there is a ball to be hit whether you get a boundary or get out."
"I have been doing that for long. I and Gambhir have great understanding and West Indies bowlers also were not that disciplined initially and so the scoring rate was high.
"Our middle order batsmen are an experienced lot and they know their game more than anybody. It just happened that they could not contribute much today. They will do well in fourth innings," he added.
Sehwag was making a comeback of sorts after missing out the away and home ODI series against England and he said it felt good to be among the runs.
"I felt good while batting. I was hitting the ball well though I was lucky initially. I wanted to convert my fifty into hundred but could not do that today. That was my mistake. I will try to at least score a hundred in the remaining two matches," he said.
