Lara: Why I Targeted Kaneria
West Indies captain Brian Lara who stroked a sizzling unbeaten 196 on the third day of the second Test match against Pakistan spoke with the media after the innings. Following are excerpts from his responses:
On how he rates this innings alongside his others:
It's not finished as yet and I really don't like rating innings. The fact of the matter is that we put together some really good partnerships and it was important for those partnerships and for someone to go out and get a big score. I'm quite happy to do that, I relish the opportunity but in terms of categorizing it, I don't see the need to.
I just enjoyed it and (want to) come back tomorrow and carry on for the benefit of the team. I thought we bowled well on the first day and especially on the second morning, reaping the rewards then. We needed to put ourselves in a really strong position, there are still six sessions left in the game and we have to come back tomorrow and bat, we need to have a sizable lead because the pitch is still playing pretty good and to give the bowlers the necessary runs to play with and keep the Pakistanis under pressure.
On whether his first session assault was a premeditated plan:
Not necessarily, I saw it fit that we keep the momentum going, you never knew what was going to happen with the new ball, we lost two wickets -- (Runako) Morton and (Shiv) Chanderpaul -- and you didn't want to lose the cream of your batting without something on the board.
One of their main threats when the ball gets old is (Danish) Kaneria and I thought that to have that psychological advantage is necessary for us as a team and it worked pretty well, he stayed away from the attack for the majority of the day and was still the most successful bowler so credit must be given to him for showing a lot of character but it wasn't necessarily a plan but we knew that some guys had to be targeted especially their main strike bowlers and we did so.
On what was going through his mind as he went after Kaneria:
Nothing really, I was judging the spin and the amount of flight he was giving the ball and getting to the pitch of it so nothing was really going through my mind just making sure I cleared mid on and mid off.
On whether he is batting as better as ever in his 16th year of Test cricket:
Definitely not before this series -- 2006 really did not reap as much as I wanted. I played a couple of Test matches in New Zealand and India and for the latter part of the year I got going but I am still very enthusiastic about the game and every time I go out in the middle I want to do well, I want to see West Indies do well and I still have that energy and that desire to go out there and perform.
On whether he is looking for a triple century on day four:
I think you need to talk about exactly what we want as a lead and my individual score definitely doesn't come into that. I think it's necessary that we have a couple of partnerships and get that need that we lead and put Pakistan under pressure and whatever I get in it I think it's important that I stay.
After myself and Denesh Ramdin we've got Dave Mohammed and I won't want to call them the tail but the bowlers and we need a recognized batsmen to bat right through the period that we want to bat for.
On how he thought Dwayne Bravo played:
Not just Bravo, I’'d like to go back to Chris Gayle and (Daren) Ganga as well, they all fell just short of making a Test hundred and that's unfortunate. Chris (Gayle) batted well, (Daren) Ganga batted well (playing) a great supporting role for Chris and myself and Dwayne Bravo as well.
I'd like to see the younger guys go on and get hundreds, I think it is more important for them than it is for me. That's the sad point of the day, that none of them went on but hopefully they will learn from the experience and if they have the opportunity again they come together and get what they want.