Lara: We Can Save This Match
West Indies captain Brian Lara spoke with the media after the fourth day of the third Test match against Pakistan in Karachi. Following are excerpts from his comments.On how the match is poised going into the final day:
It resembles a Test match that we had at the beginning of the year against India in St Lucia and we were able to do it (save the game). We've got recognized batsmen to come, myself and Sarwan are out there, Chanderpaul and Bravo, Ramdin who played well in the first innings.
Our task is to stay out there, make our wickets very expensive and stay out for as long as possible so we're going to be fighting and there is a realistic chance of us batting out the day.
On Mohammad Yousuf's recording-breaking run of form:
I think it's excellent, anyone who has scored nine centuries in one year is magnificent. Credit must be given to him, he's very very committed every time he goes to bat and he's a role model not just for Pakistani cricket but for any young cricketer around the world.
It couldn't happen to a better person, he's a very nice guy, very affable person. I think his run of form is tremendous and slightly unbelievable -- to get some many centuries and 1800 runs [although] I didn't like the last 600 of them.
On how the Windies fast bowlers have performed:
It's a tough wicket for anyone. I thought we bowled really well to get Pakistan out in under four sessions in the first innings. The rest of the game depended on how we batted in our first innings. We needed to put them under pressure by surpassing their total and putting up a lead and we didn't do that.
It's not the sort of pitch that is going to move around and you need three or four slips. It's unfortunate that the pitch did not live up to expectations. I can't fault the bowlers at all for their effort throughout the series. I think we played pretty well and it's unfortunate that we didn't bat properly in the first session of the first Test match and now we find ourselves in a situation where we have to show a lot of character to save this one.
We're going to go out and fight hard but the bowlers have done a tremendous job over the past three Test matches.
On whether the Windies can look to win the game:
We want to bat out the day, that's our aim. We have to go by drinks, try to bat for the first hour and then to lunch and that's going to be our aim. The total is not going to be on our mind but we want each and every person to play their natural game and don't find ourselves bogged down or don't play too extravagantly.
We're going to go out there and play as we see and we're going to back our ability to fight.
On whether he is keen on putting on a good personal performance on his last day of Test cricket in Pakistan:
I'd like to save the match. I'd like to think that I would play a very important part of that and that-s my number one aim -- to go out there and bat all day tomorrow.
Whatever kudos comes with it, so be it. The job for myself and Sarwan is not to leave it up to anybody else and to go out there and do it.