Bravo happy with his show

 The two had the same number of runs and the same average after their first 12 Tests, and whilst Lara made 167 in his 13th Test, Bravo fell one short after being dismissed for 166 in the first innings of the third Test against India on Wednesday.

“Yes, if I had scored one more run I would have equalled Lara but I don’t think you can plan and do that,” Bravo told newsmen after his third hundred in his last four Tests. “I don’t think it’s something you can go there and try to achieve, it’s something that happens on its own.”

Bravo revealed that he had been a bit under the weather leading into this game. “I became a bit tired,” he said of the stroke that brought about his dismissal. “I was suffering from a little bit of flu over the last couple of days and it took a toll on me but I am quite satisfied with my performance and obviously feeling good about the entire team performance. I am in pretty good form at this point in time and hopefully it can continue.”

Bravo walked in at 150 for two, after openers Adrian Barath and Kraigg Brathwaite had put on 137, and went on to add 164 for the third wicket with Kirk Edwards. “It was very important for me to stay positive as much as possible,” Bravo observed.

“The openers did a tremendous job, as did Kirk Edwards. When you come in on that platform, you try and continue from where they left off. Kirk and I batted really well yesterday and I really went well today as well. Unfortunately, he didn’t go on to get another Test hundred but he is performing pretty well. We have a good understanding together.”

The Wankhede strip obviously came in for high praise. “It’s a decent batting wicket, it played much better today. The ball was coming to the bat quite nicely,” Bravo noted. “As long as you apply yourself and assess the conditions as quickly as possible, there are runs to get on that wicket.

“But I think our fast bowlers can get something out of it as long as they bowl in the right areas. We have Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards who can close in on 90 mph, so we are going to go out there with high energy, we are going to go out there positive and try our best to get their top order in very early. It’s going to take something special from our fast bowlers but, I believe we can go out there and get the job done.”