Mumbai, Nov 22: West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite scored 68 runs and was involved in a 137-run partnership for the first wicket with Adrian Barath after the visitors opted to bat first in the third Test against India.
The batsman spoke to the media about the Wankhede wicket and and West Indies’ batting at the end of day press conference.
Excerpts:
On the Wankhede wicket
Early on the new ball was doing a bit. [There was] nothing significant but it’s a good pitch. [We] took time to adjust. [There was] not that much turn.
On the bearing of Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s absence on the team strategy
He is a world-class player but we know what we have to do; as batsmen we have to score runs.
On the pitch at Wankhede as compared to the previous one
I would say this is the best.
On India’s pace attack
Pace was okay but the pitch was a good one [for batting]. Not much assistance for swing bowlers.
On scoring against India
Playing against India in India, I’ve got two fifties against them now; [my] confidence is really good. [I need to] keep moving on and improving.
On the plan ahead
We [are] looking to bat for two days. Once we do that we should get a good score. [..] In the second Test India batted for the better part of two days [and] got a good score. We are [also] looking to do that so we can win this Test match.
On the fast bowlers in the West Indies team
[Devendra] Bishoo has been bowling quite well. Yes we would like to play a few fast bowlers. Having Bishoo has been good for us.
On his mindset when he came out to bat
As openers [Adrian] Barath and I decided we have to look to get through the first hour without losing any wickets and we did that. From there [we] pressed on, got a fifty partnership, got a 100 [partnership] […]. [We] gave the team the best start possible.
On whether batting on the wicket was easy
It’s not easy. We have to work hard, whether you make runs or not, [you] have to start from scratch […] The bowlers are just not going to give you runs. We need to play hard and be positive.
On losing just the two wickets on Day 1
The fellows are quite bubbly. We lost two [but] we have two batsmen in, set to get big totals. [We’ll] come out tomorrow [and] look to dominate. The batsmen [need to] get big scores and go for it.
