I need to lead from the front and get runs, says West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite | Cricket News – Times of India

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite expressed strong criticism towards his batting unit, stating that the team was massively disappointed by their performance in the opening Test against India.
The West Indies batsmen failed to meet expectations in both innings, scoring 150 and 130 runs and succumbing to the skillful bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin, who claimed an impressive haul of 12 wickets for 131 runs in the match.
As a result of Ashwin’s remarkable efforts, India secured a resounding victory by an innings and 141 runs within just 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 especially critical of his own performance, as he managed scores of only 20 and 7 while opening the batting in the two innings.
“…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 picking 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 deciding test of the two-match series begins July 20 in Port of Spain.