Starting day four at 21 for 1 in their second innings and still trailing by 302 runs, West Indies have a mountain to climb if they are to reach a position of safety in the opening Test against India.
Starting day four at 21 for 1 in their second innings and still trailing by 302 runs, West Indies have a mountain to climb if they are to reach a position of safety in the opening Test against India.
After the batsmen made merry on the first two days, the pacers had their share of fun on day two as Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav picked up four wickets apiece to bowl the hosts out for 243. Kraigg Brathwaite and Shane Dowrich came up with impressive knocks, but those weren't enough for West Indies to avoid the follow-on.
With Brathwaite back in the hut in the second essay, the onus will be on Darren Bravo, known for his second-innings exploits while following on, and the likes of Rajendra Chandrika, Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Blackwood to come up with a combined effort and defy the Indian bowlers. However, that is easier said than done against a quality bowling attack, on a fourth day pitch that is likely to assist the spinners.
"The pitch has something for everyone and the Indian bowlers have been exceptional. It hasn't deteriorated as such, there are some foot marks for the spinners to exploit, but on the whole, it's a surface where the batsmen can make runs. It will be an uphill task for West Indies though," said Ajay Jadeja.
Ashwin, who scored a century before picking up his 17th fifer in Tests, was named the Man of the Match. Here's what he had to say in the presentation ceremony:
"The fast bowlers bowled really well in the first innings. I didn't find the rhythm in the first innings as the long spell wasn't coming. But it did come after lunch. I was speaking to Anil bhai as well about how my rhythm was and we worked this morning on it. It's all about finding the right rhythm, if everything is in sync you start finishing well. The body drives through the crease. I felt I got that today."
"The fast bowlers bowled really well in the first innings. I didn't find the rhythm in the first innings as the long spell wasn't coming. But it did come after lunch. I was speaking to Anil bhai as well about how my rhythm was and we worked this morning on it. It's all about finding the right rhythm, if everything is in sync you start finishing well. The body drives through the crease. I felt I got that today."
Kohli: Just feels good to get the first win on the board. Everyone was excited to play the game, we had enough practice and everyone was eager to get on with it. Scoring wasn't that easy initially, West Indies bowled well. Couple of their bowlers rushed the batsmen. With five batsmen and at 70 for 2, we had to take responsibility. Shikhar was batting very well. Ashwin as well, brilliant innings down the order. And to have someone like him getting a ton down the order is wonderful. With 5 batsmen, we had to deepen the order so we had Ashwin at six. He's pretty good at both. We had a look at the wicket, our initial thought was three spinners, but with the amount of grass on offer we decided for three pacers. Ishant was unlucky despite bowling well. Really happy for Shami who is coming after an injury, he's a perfect Test bowler. Umesh is bowling well and Ishant is consistent as always. Our aim is obviously to win every game. I think we have a good bowling combination, if they give us a drier wicket, we have the spinners.
Holder: They put a pretty good first innings total. (We) didn't bowl well in the first innings and it was a daunting task to chase something like 560. But there were some positives, Kraigg Brathwaite batted well. Obviously need to bowl better, build up some partnerships, string together some dot balls, build pressure. We'll see the conditions there (in Jamaica) and see what combination we can play. Not sure how the pitch will play. Normally there's a pretty flat pitch. Been hard to predict the conditions in the Caribbean of late.