“The guys hung in. They played some pretty good cricket for the most part but it was just those little parts, that one bad hour, that we have to try and overcome,” Gibson said.
After the Aussies’ first innings culminated in a score of 311, the Windies found themselves struggling to keep pace. The top order – Adrian Barath (7), Kraigg Brathwaite (0), and Kieran Powell (19) - went down without much of a fight, and Darren Bravo (38) was also dismissed by Michael Hussey early on day 3.
The saving grace of the Windies’ innings was the 130-run partnership between Narsingh Deonarine (55), and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (94), which got their side up to 230 by the 88th over.
“When you get those big partnerships, you have got to hope that the two guys in those partnerships can go big,” said Gibson, adding that he had hoped Chanderpaul would go on to score a century, and stick it out till the end of the innings. The veteran batsman had chipped in with a vital 103 during the previous Test, but was unable to repeat the feat during the second Test.
Following the termination of the partnership, courtesy off-spinner Nathan Lyon, the remaining batting order crumbled, and the Windies found themselves at 252 for 9 by the end of day three – 59 runs short of the target, with just one wicket remaining.
Alluding to the fact that the tourists had managed to successfully chase 190 in the previous Test, the coach displayed an optimistic outlook, saying the team needed to remain upbeat and concentrate on establishing a strong base at the beginning of their innings.
“It's tough but … they've kept coming back and they've been very competitive. We just have to stay positive and make sure that whatever it is we're chasing, we apply ourselves maybe a little bit better at the start of the innings.”
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