West Indies’ Darren Bravo and Brian Lara may have more in common than just style, but the former doesn’t seem to get bogged down by the similarities and comparisons with the legendary Prince of Trinidad.
Bravo, who had equalled Lara’s record of scoring 941 runs in his first 12 matches prior to the ongoing third Test against India, today stroked his way to 166, but still fell short of the 167 the world record holder had scored in his 13th Test, against England at Georgetown.
“Had I scored one more run I would have equalled Lara’s record. But it is something that I didn’t plan, it is not something that I would go out and achieve.
“Nevertheless, I played a good knock and got a big hundred for my team. Hopefully, we would go out there tomorrow and put down a good performance,” Bravo said after helping his team amass 575 for nine on day two of the Test at the Wankhede Stadium here.
This was Bravo’s second ton in as many innings and third in his last four to take his tally to 1,107 runs, which is again one less than Lara at the same stage.
“It was very important to stay as much as possible at the wicket. The openers did a tremendous job as well as number three Kirk Edwards. It was important for me to continue the job. I batted pretty well yesterday and continued it today with Edwards. Unfortunately he did not get another hundred.
Kieran Powell played pretty well,” he said.
After his mammoth effort, Bravo said it was tiredness that led to his dismissal off speedster Varun Aaron.
“I think I became a bit tired. It was tough for me batting for the past couple of days. It took a toll on me. But nevertheless I’m satisfied with my performance,” he said.
Asked to compare today’s knock with the 136 he churned out in the second Test at Kolkata, Bravo said, “I think it was a good performance. I don’t want to compare. It was a pretty good performance at that point of time. Hopefully I will continue to do that.”
The 22—year—old Trinidadian said though the Indian bowlers had a plan for him, he dominated them by working on his batting in the nets.
“As far as the Indian attack is concerned I think they had a decent plan for me. But it was something I was working on in the nets. I batted well. I hope that I continue to get from strength to strength from here,” he said.
Bravo felt the Wankhede wicket had become good for batting but would offer the bowlers some assistance if they put the ball in the right areas.
He also expressed confidence that the West Indian bowlers would do the job in the last match of the series after conceding an unassailable 2—0 lead to the hosts.
“I think the wicket has become better. There is some spin for the spinners. For the fast bowlers if they put the ball in the right areas they will get something out of the wicket. We have the likes of Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul who can cross the 90mph barrier.
“I think we are going to go there and try to get their top—order early. We have a healthy total. I think we will go there and hope for something special from our fast bowlers.
The think—tank and I believe that we will get the job done.”
He refused to comment on why the West Indians had not declared despite having a huge total on board.
“I’m not in a right position to answer that question. That is a question for the coach,” he said.
