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-yearold.
“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.
MELBOURNE, (Reuters) - After playing in front of limited crowds in a boisterous atmosphere in Melbourne, players will return to the ‘new normal’ from today as an eerie silence will descend on the Australian Open with fans barred for the next five days.
The discovery of more infections linked to the highly contagious UK variant of COVID-19 prompted authorities to place the state of Victoria under lockdown, but the show will go on as the Grand Slam retreats into its own bio-secure bubble.
Cheers quickly turned to a smattering of boos from the crowd when play was briefly suspended at 11:30 pm local time yesterday while top seed Novak Djokovic was in action, as spectators were asked to leave the arena ahead of the midnight deadline.
“It’s going to be a rough few days for I think everyone,” Serena Williams said. “It’s not ideal. It’s been really fun to have the crowd back, especially here.”
Rafa Nadal continues his quest for a record-breaking 21st major when he takes on Briton Cameron Norrie and the Spaniard will prepare knowing there will be no distractions after a heckler was ejected during his secondround match.
Australian fans will tune in with bated breath when women’s top seed Ash Barty takes on Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the country’s biggest title hope playing with a heavily strapped thigh which forced her to withdraw from the doubles competition.
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova is still seeking her first Grand Slam title and standing in her way is Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech battle at the Rod Laver Arena.
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is up against Sweden’s Mikael Ymer while Russia’s Andrey Rublev looks to extend his unbeaten streak this year to seven games when he is up against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.