England captain Joe Root lavished praise on Kraigg Brathwaite after the West Indies batter frustrated the opponents with his resistance especially in the second innings of the second Test in Barbados. Brathwaite scored an unbeaten 56 in 184 balls in the second innings while notched up 160 in 489 deliveries in the first.
"It was annoying how good he was," Root said. "He played brilliantly in both innings and didn't give us many opportunities. He ground us down. He's an ideal player for a pitch like that. He takes it deep time and time again,” he added.
Root further appreciated West Indies for the way they fought back in the second innings despite suffering some early blows.
"It did feel like a new-ball wicket, you needed to really make an impact while the ball was harder, but after three brilliant breakthroughs, we, unfortunately, couldn't quite kick on. Credit to West Indies, they fought very hard in two brilliant Test matches, and it should be a brilliant final one of the series."
Chasing 282 in the second Test, the hosts concluded the final day at 135/5 as the encounter ended in a draw.
The third and final Test is slated to take place in Grenada which will be a deciding clash of the series.