West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite says he is improving as a batsman

Kraigg Brathwaite hits one out of the middle

West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite who top-scored for his side with 64 runs of 163 balls in the first innings of the third Test match against India says he is slowly improving as a batsman and looking to play towards his strengths.The 23-year-old’s knock helped West Indies get to a respectable 225 but they still find themselves in a tough position to save the Test match.  

Speaking after the conclusion of Day 4, Brathwaite said,” I have always been working on different aspects of the game. When I first started off, I had a few things to work on, technical stuff. But now, I'm improving as a batsman. I know my strengths and weakness and just play towards my strengths.”India ended the day with a score 157/3, with a lead of 285 runs and Brathwaite believes they will have to bat well to escape defeat.

“India has a very good lead, but tomorrow as batsmen we have got to come and work hard and build partnerships,” he said. At one point of time the hosts were well placed at 202/3, from there they were bundled out for 225. Brathwaite chose to laud the efforts of the Indian bowlers than speak about why their batsmen failed.“We think Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled well with the new ball. When he took that new ball it was the key because he took four quick wickets.”

Asked how West Indies would approach Day 5, Brathwaite said,”Like I said, they have a decent lead. So obviously we have to see what they do tomorrow in terms of declaration. We think the pitch is still a good one and in terms of the time we have the key is to assess it as a batting group and decide whether to go for the win or the draw. We will see when the declaration comes, what we will go for.

The lanky batsman also said he wasn’t quite surprised as to why he and his off spinning partner Roston Chase were given the bulk of the bowling in India’s second innings saying he would love to get some wickets with the ball.“Don't really see it as surprising. The only thing was that we were couple of minutes behind. That was one of the reasons. Unfortunately, we went for too many boundaries but still I think we have a job to do as a team tomorrow,” he said.

“I just do what the captain wants me to do. Back in Sri Lanka, I got six wickets, but right here, we've got Roston Chase as a front-line spinner, so for me, if the captain wants me to come and keep it tight or try to get a breakthrough, I try my best.”