Restricted by rain but getting most things right before and after those breaks, India moved to a position of strength in the second and final Test against West Indies. The visiting side, looking for a 2-0 series sweep, set the home team a target of 365 to win and had to wait for success in the second innings. Once Ravichandran Ashwin got Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk McKenzie in successive overs, India were in control. With West Indies on 76-2 at stumps, India’s biggest worry on the fifth day would be the forecast of rain.
Having lost a few hours to rains a day earlier, India had their job cut out and they had three targets. The first one of claiming the remaining five wickets was achieved in 7.4 overs. The West Indies added just 26 to their overnight total of 229-5 to concede a lead of 183 runs. The next was scoring quickly in the second innings, especially because there had already been one rain break. Half-centuries by Rohit Sharma (57 off 44) and Ishan Kishan (52 not out off 34) helped the team race to 181-2 at 7.54 per over before declaring the innings closed. Then came the important task of finishing it off. Ashwin’s relentlessness ensured that this job had been started.
While Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are India’s biggest strengths in their pursuit of a series sweep, Mohammed Siraj won the honours in the first session. He ran through the bottom half of the West Indies line-up with a mix of deliveries that came back and also bowled a few that moved away, with five slips in position at times. It was his second five-wicket haul and figures of 5-60 were his career-best. Siraj was well supported by Kishan, who took a few good catches behind the stumps.
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Kishan also made the most of the opportunity to contribute with the bat after being promoted to No. 4. This was after Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38 off 30) had got India off to brisk start. A third successive century stand between the two was on the cards before Rohit fell when the total was 98 after 11.5 overs. Kishan primarily targeted the mid-wicket area to play big shots and also hit a few straight over the head of left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, apart from carting Shannon Gabriel over the cover region for six. His maiden Test half-century came off 33 balls.
Brathwaite started the West Indies reply on a positive note and took a few boundaries off the new-ball bowlers. This was unlike the batter who made 75 off 235 in the previous innings. This urge to be proactive, however, led to his dismissal. Having swept Ashwin a few times, he top-edged one for Jaydev Unadkat to complete an easy catch near the leg-umpire. This was the fourth time in four innings that Brathwaite had fallen to Ashwin. His opening partner Taegnarine Chanderpaul had withdrawn into a shell and made just three off the first 54 balls he faced.
Given that West Indies have reduced the target to below 300 and they have eight wickets in hand, they are not out of the match yet, at least theoretically. But given the brittle nature of their batting line-up, a fifth-day wicket to negotiate and a versatile Indian attack where the pacers are complementing the spinners who are dangerous on last days, things are loaded heavily in favour of India. As mentioned, their biggest concern will be the weather forecast.
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