Plan is to be clear in what you want to do: Brathwaite

West Indies Test skipper Kraigg Brathwaite said his team will have to show a lot more discipline in the batting department if they want to win the second and final Test against Sri Lanka, starting Monday (November 29), and level the series 1-1. The visiting side lost the first Test by 187 runs as most of their batters struggled against spinners. Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva were the only two batters who managed to cross the 50-run mark in the opening Test.

"The plan is to be clear in what you want to do. Believe that you can do it, and do it for long periods. We've got to have the discipline and the fight to do it for 50 overs - more than two sessions, or three sessions," said Brathwaite.

"We had a lot of discussions. One important thing is that you've got to defend a lot of balls. Having a straight bat is one thing we discussed.  That's very important. And sweeping as well - especially the offspinner. It's just about being clear and confident about whether you're playing forward or back."

West Indies were reduced to 18/6 in the second innings before Bonner and Da Silva put on 100 runs for the seventh wicket and saved them from an embarrassment. “Bonner and Josh showed that when you have a solid defence, if you put the effort and energy in, you'll be successful.

"Sometimes when doubt comes in, you can slip up a bit. Just trust that defence. When the bad balls come you get runs. It's important to have that clarity, as to what you want to do here. In terms of how they were able to manoeuvre different balls, they were a very good example for us. As a batting group, it was good to see, and something to learn from."

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Chandimal, who managed scores of 45 and 10* in the first Test, said he wants to “give everything” in order to revive his career. The 32-year-old has been very inconsistent with the bat and that’s why has been in and out of the set-up.

"I started in Tests as a wicketkeeper, batting around No. 5 and 6. After about 2015, when our senior batters retired, I had the chance to come up the order and bat at No. 4. It's not easy to bat No. 4 and keep wickets, so I didn't have the gloves. But now I've got the chance again to bat lower down and keep wickets. I'm hoping to give it everything," said Chandimal.

"Since I'm the keeper, I'll only get to bat at No. 6 or 7. For now I'm at six. It's hard to bat higher than that, because sometimes you have to keep 100 or 120 overs, and given the weather in Sri Lanka, you need a break. It is its own challenge, because there's only one more batter after me. But my job is to figure out how to bat with that last batter, and how to get the most out of the partnerships with the bowlers."