Second test 'double' delights Chanderpaul

Shivnarine Chanderpaul said he welcomed his second double century.The veteran gathered an unbeaten 203 as the West Indies posted a huge first innings total of 527-4 in their first innings.

Chanderpaul's innings came to an end 20 minutes before the tea interval when the West Indies declared.His 203 today equalled his highest score which he also made 7 years ago against South Africa on home soil at Bourda in Georgetown,Guyana.

He is now level with the peerless Garfield Sobers on the list of century-makers in Tests from West Indies with 26.

“Sir Garry is Sir Garry,” he said. “Being level on centuries with Sir Garry is always good, but I cannot be Sir Garry.

“I have played a lot more games than Sir Garry, but it’s still a great honour to be mentioned in the same sentence with Sir Garry.”

He added: “In my career, I have not scored too many Test double hundreds, so it was truly satisfying to get past that landmark.

“The team comes first. No matter what is the individual’s score. Whatever is the team plan, we have to stick to it. I was just happy to get past 200.”

Chanderpaul said his desire for runs and the love of the game were God-given talents, which he has worked hard to cultivate over the years.

“It is something that I have tried very hard over the years to do,” he said. “I’ve tried hard to improve and tried hard to get better at everything I do. I’m happy that I am still able to score hundreds and batting well at this stage.

“Where I bat could be one of the reasons why I have not scored many more double hundreds. But I had many opportunities to get big scores and I didn’t. It’s unfortunate, but it’s how the game is played at times, so I was thankful that I was able to cross the double-hundred mark this time.”