Da Silva ‘gutted’ after missing century

DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – Joshua Da Silva said yesterday he was “gutted” at
missing out on triple figures, after falling for 92 on the second day of the second Test
here.

Resuming on 22, the right-hander batted superbly to strike 10 fours off 187 balls in
nearly 4-½ hours at the crease but perished with a hundred in sight, bowled between
bat and pad by left-arm spinner Taijul Islam.

“I got a half-century but it’s not good enough. I was eight runs short and I was gutted,”
said the 22-year-old.

“I probably shed a tear or two walking off just because I wanted to get there so badly but
hopefully there are more opportunities and I will get it the next time.

“I can’t even describe how it feels and what it means to be eight runs short. I wish I
could have back that ball. It’s the second time I’ve gotten out that way so hopefully next
time I wouldn’t let [that ball] out me.”

Da Silva anchored two critical stands which propelled West Indies from their overnight
223 or five to 409 all out in their first innings, about 15 minutes before tea.

Firstly, he extended his overnight sixth wicket stand with Nkrumah Bonner (90) to 88
before adding a further 118 for the seventh wicket with tail-ender Alzarri Joseph who
made a stroke-filled 82.

Da Silva was quick to praise Joseph’s innings which marked his second Test half-
century following his 86 against New Zealand last December.

“I have full confidence in Alzarri and more confidence when he’s batting against pace
but he showed he can do it against spin as well,” the Trinidadian gloveman said.

Playing in only his third Test following his debut in New Zealand, Da Silva has looked at
ease against the battery of Bangladesh spinners throughout the series.

In the opening Test last week in Chattogram, he managed scores of 40 and 20, on both
occasions battling through difficult situations to help put West Indies in strong positions.

“I’ve always been a good player of spin so I just adapted my game,” Da Silva explained.

“[These are] lower wickets so that’s the majority of what I had to adapt to. [They are]
similar to home but not as similar. It was different circumstances and situations so I just
did my part.”

He added: “[I just] pick the line and length as early as possible. I’ve been doing a lot of
work with Monty (Desai) our batting coach, just working on moving forward and back
positively and making that decision early.”

West Indies head into today’s third day with a lead of 304 runs, after restricting
Bangladesh to 105 for four at the close.