Ravichandran Ashwin returned his best Test figures away from home (12 for 131 runs) as West Indies crashed to an innings-and-141-run loss against India in the opening Test in Dominica. The home side could manage a mere 130 in their second innings.
On the third day, with a few more deliveries starting to turn square, West Indies had little or no chance of surviving against the exceptional spin duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Spin was introduced by Rohit Sharma in just the fourth over. Jadeja soon forced Kraigg Brathwaite to edge one behind but Ishan Kishan couldn’t grab the chance. Jadeja, though, didn’t have to wait for long to pick his first scalp as he removed Tagenarine Chanderpaul LBW in the 10th over. The opener took the review, but to no avail.
Ashwin then dismissed Brathwaite, the West Indies skipper, with a quicker delivery, as he edged one to the slip fielder, Ajinkya Rahane. After the Lunch break, the procession of wickets continued, with Ashwin winning an LBW decision against Jermaine Blackwood. Although it seemed as if Blackwood was trapped right in front, he placed his belief in the DRS, but couldn’t overturn the initial decision. In the very next over bowled by Jadeja, Raymon Reifer tried his luck with the review system, after being adjudged LBW, but he too had to walk back to the pavilion.
Also Read: Jaiswal ticks a few vital boxes.
After Mohammed Siraj dislodged Joshua da Silva LBW, Alick Athanaze and Jason Holder offered a semblance of resistance with a couple of 20s. Athanaze, who also scored 47 in the first dig, played a couple of eye-catching horizontal-bat shots, alongside employing the sweep. Eventually, he too succumbed to Ashwin, caught at short leg. The trio of Alzarri Joseph, Rahkeem Cornwall and Jomel Warrican used their long handles to good effect to crack a few meaty blows but all of them were dislodged by Ashwin, he wrapped up the innings.
Meanwhile, Holder remained undefeated on a 50-ball 20. Early on in his innings, Holder was a part of a curious incident. The last ball off the 33rd over saw Holder not making a connection with his attempted cut shot. Kishan, the wicketkeeper, collected the ball and waited for a while before whipping the bails off, with Holder’s foot in the air. However, by then, the umpire had called ‘over’ and Holder survived. It just reminded those watching of Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal in the Lord’s Test.
Earlier in the day, after facing 387 balls, Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for an impressive 171 on his Test debut by Joseph. Virat Kohli, who got a reprieve when he was on 40, fell for a 182-ball 76. Kohli wasn’t at his fluent best and had to work hard for his runs. Jadeja looked in decent touch and finished with 37 not out. Kishan, batting at No.7, took 20 deliveries to open his account in Test cricket. Rohit, the India skipper, showed his displeasure at Kishan for playing out dots, with India eyeing a declaration. The Indian think-tank declared their first innings (421 for 5) as soon as Kishan scored his first run in Test cricket.
The second and final Test of the series will commence on July 20 at Port of Spain in Trinidad. With the track at Port of Spain expected to be on the slower side, West Indies have an uphill task on their hands to prevent a clean sweep. Or would we see a spiced-up Port of Spain deck? One has to wait and watch.
Also Read: Series in SA: India to play eight matches in under a month