Centurion Saha throws light on his gritty approach against Windies

India wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has admitted that he was made to work extremely hard en route to his maiden Test century on a spongy track in the third Test against West Indies at Gros Islet.

The 31-year-old, who stepped out to bat when India were reeling at 126 for five on the opening day, dug deep and resisted anything and everything that West Indies threw at him.

Saha provided a robust support to Ravichandran Ashwin (118) as the duo engineered a 213-run stand for the sixth wicket across two days to save the tourists the blushes and end their first innings at 353.

"Initially, we had planned to hit only the loose balls and that too if we were 100 per cent certain. We were willing to spend time and began rotating the strike gradually," Saha was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

Having come agonizingly close to scoring a half-century in two occasions (40 and 47) in the ongoing series, a determined Saha (104) produced a gritty performance, punishing the bowlers when they start to lose steam.

"It was at the back of my mind that I missed out on fifties in the last two matches. When I was closing in, my first goal was to get those five runs and reach the half-century that had eluded me. When I got to the mark, I again started from the scratch," Saha said while stressing that the plan was to bat long.

The wicketkeeper-batsman also believes that scoring a hundred is a big achievement irrespective of whether a player plays at home or overseas.

"I think a Test century is always a big achievement be it at home or away. It was not easy as we had lost five wickets and the conditions were difficult with the outfield being very slow. I am happy that my hundred could help the team and in the future too, I will be looking to contribute to the team's cause," he said.

West Indies, who are trailing 0-1 in the four-match series, made an excellent comeback as the hosts had made 107 for one at stumps on day two with Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo remaining unbeaten on 53 and 18 respectively.