We let ourselves down with the bat, says Windies skipper Brathwaite

Roseau (Dominica), Jul 15 (PTI) West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite came down heavily on his ill-equipped batting unit, saying the home team was “let down” by its batters in the opening Test against India here.

West Indies produced a below-par show with the bat in both the innings, succumbing to a wily Ravichandran Ashwin, who returned with impressive match haul of 12 for 131.

Thanks to the spinner’s efforts, India won by an innings and 141 runs under three days in the series opener on Friday.

“We just let ourselves down with the bat. First innings total was just not good enough,” Brathwaite said after the match.

Brathwaite was particularly critical of his own performance as he scored just 20 and 7 in two innings while opening the batting.

“…that I didn’t get any runs. As a leader, I need to lead from the front and get runs. In the first innings, a few dismissals were not good for us. We lost a wicket before lunch. We lost certain situations,” he said.

“Senior guys have to lead the way. (Batting against champion bowlers) It is tough. It is having the balance and playing the shot in the right way, whether to defend or sweep.

“I think we didn’t execute the shots we were trying. Even today (Friday) we had some defensive dismissals. We have to use the bat more instead of our pads.”

Brathwaite said his decision to bat first after winning the toss was not a wrong one as they erred in execution.

“(Toss) Didn’t think it spun a lot early on,” he said.

The West Indies skipper praised all-rounder Alick Athanze, who scored 47 and 28 besides picked up a wicket on his Test debut.

“He (Athanze) had a good start. You could see that he belongs. Bowling, he had to do a job because we lost (Rahkeem) Cornwall for four hours. His future is bright. Has a strong mind,” Brathwaite said.

The second and final Test will be played in Port of Spain starting July 20.