West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite said he was “very happy with his team's attitude and discipline” in the just-concluded two-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home.
In the final Test, West Indies posted 354 in the first innings on the back of Brathwaite’s brilliant 126 and Rahkeem Cornwall’s 73 while in the second innings the skipper played another brilliant knock of 85 with Jason Holder scoring unbeaten 71 as the hosts declared the innings at 280/4 against Sri Lanka.
On the final day of the second Test, Sri Lanka finished on 193-2 while chasing 377 for the win with Dimuth Karunaratne (39 off 144), Oshada Fernando (66* off 199), and Lahiru Thirimanne (75 off 176) helping the tourists secure a draw on Saturday (April 3) to share the Test trophy with the West Indies.
The two-match Test series trophy was shared between the West Indies and Sri Lanka as both games ended in draws. However, Man of the Match Brathwaite said he would have liked to win the series but was happy with his team’s efforts, saying West Indies are heading in the right direction.
Brathwaite said during the post-match presentation: “We would have liked to win, but I was very happy with the attitude we had and the discipline. Very happy, it was a good pitch. In both Test matches, the bowlers worked really hard. I was pleased with how the guys never gave up. Batting wise, we are continuing to bat 90+ overs which is a positive for us.”
The skipper further added, “Very happy with the fast bowlers' effort. We didn't give up, we need to keep going from strength to strength. For me, it's all about discipline. We have shown that in the back-to-back series, we can be consistent. South Africa, potentially next series, they are a good team, we need to have different pans. We are heading in the right direction.”
He signed off by saying about his batting efforts, “Very pleasing. As a leader of the team, you want to lead from the front. Happy to get those two scores. I wanted to keep it simple, made sure I had a solid plan, and backed it 100 percent. I could change at times, I always play to the situation of the game. I am pretty confident that I could score at whatever rate I choose to.”
(With ANI Inputs)
