Shivnarine Chanderpaul had a host of reasons to kiss the ground at Kensington Oval yesterday.
A darling of local cricket fans, the reliable West Indies batsman established two new marks on the second day of the first Digicel Test against Australia.
His unbeaten 103 was his 25th Test hundred, taking him past Sir Vivian Richards and placing him third among West Indian century-makers. In the process, he also eclipsed Brian Lara as the leading run-scorer in Tests at Kensington.
Chanderpaul’s effort helped the hosts to a healthy 449 for nine declared and it was the first time in their Test history that every single West Indies batsman reached double digits in the same Test innings.
On reaching his fourth Test century at the ground, Chanderpaul celebrated as usual – by kissing the pitch.
