"We showed some fight with the bat": WI skipper Braithwaite after series loss to India

Jul 24, 2023

Port of Spain [Trinidad and Tobago], July 25 : Following his team's series loss to India after the second Test ended in a draw, West Indies skipper Kraigg Braithwaite expressed that his team showed some fight with the bat but they can still be more disciplined with the ball. 
The rain did not allow any play on the final day of the second Test between India and West Indies being held in Port of Spain on Tuesday, ending the match in a draw. With this, India has clinched the two-match Test series 1-0. 
"We showed some fight in this game with the bat. Bowling-wise, we can be more disciplined. It was a good comeback from the batters. We lost five wickets yesterday, that was not good. We were positive, we had 98 overs on a pitch that was relatively good. It (chase) was on. Unfortunately with the weather, we did not get a chance," said Kraigg in the post-match presentation. 
The skipper lauded batter Alick Athanaze and all-rounder Kirk McKenzie for their performances in the series. 
"Alick (Athanaze) looked good from the word go. In the Dominica Test, he belonged. They have good pitches in Australia. Continue working on your game, come and enjoy it. Kirk (McKenzie) looked good in his first match. These two guys have promise. They are the future. I have a lot of belief in these two. It will be good to have some camps, some match practices. Using Kookaburra balls. Preparation is important. We need to bat for long periods against good teams. Some countries have club cricket going on," he added. 
India had set a massive total of 365 runs for West Indies to win the match and Windies lost two wickets in the final session of day four in Port of Spain on Monday. 
At the end of the day four's play, WI was at 76/2, with Tagenarine Chanderpaul (24*) and Jermaine Blackwood (20*). 
WI had got off to a decent start, but then Ravichandran Ashwin (2/33) removed Kraigg Braithwaite (28) and Kirk McKenzie (0) to reduce WI to 44/2. 
Earlier, India had declared their second innings at 181/2, with Ishan Kishan (52* in 34 balls) and Shubman Gill (29*) unbeaten. With a lead of 364 runs, they set a target of 365 runs for the Windies.
Shannon Gabriel and Jomel Warrican took a wicket each for the Windies. 
Rohit Sharma (57 in 44 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38 in 30 balls) also played some quick knocks for India. India had crossed the 100-run mark in just 12.2 overs, the fastest by any team in Test cricket's history. 
Before this, in reply to India's first innings total of 438, WI was bundled out for just 255 runs. WI trailed by 183 runs at that point. 
Skipper Kraigg Braithwaite top-scored for the Windies with a knock of 75 in 235 balls. Alick Athanaze (37), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (33) and Kirk McKenzie (32) also played some decent knocks for the Windies.
Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers for India, taking 5/60. Mukesh Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin got one wicket.
India made 438 in the first innings. Virat's century (121 in 206 balls) and fifties by skipper Rohit Sharma (80 in 143 balls), Yashasvi Jaiswal (57 in 74 balls), Ravindra Jadeja (61 in 152 balls) and Ravichandran Ashwin (56 in 78 balls) proved to be instrumental in taking India to a massive total.
Jomel Warrican (3/89) was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies. Kemar Roach (3/104) and Jason Holder (2/57) also were among the wickets for the Windies.