Ind vs WI: Openers give India solid start in Port-of-Spain Test
PORT-OF-SPAIN: Captain Rohit Sharma and newcomer Yashasvi Jaiswal picked up where they left off in the opening match, speeding India to 121 without loss at lunch on Thursday after being put in to bat by West Indies in the second Test.
Having put on 229 in Dominica on the way to victory by an innings and 141 runs in three days in the first Test, Sharma and Jaiswal laid into an uninspired home attack on a Queen’s Park Oval pitch that allowed them freedom to play their shots.
Sharma resumes in the afternoon on 63 (102 balls, six fours, two sixes) with Jaiswal on 52 (56 balls, eight fours, one six).
The young left-hander showed more aggression than his senior partner who had most of the strike.
West Indies’ only real ray of hope came off the penultimate ball of the session when Jaiswal edged a delivery from seamer Jason Holder just short of Alick Athanaze at slip.
West Indies made two changes to their team with fast bowler Shannon Gabriel playing on his home ground in Trinidad at the expense of off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall while previously uncapped Jamaican left-handed batsman Kirk McKenzie replaced Raymon Reifer in the middle order.
India are giving a debut to right-arm fast-medium bowler Mukesh Kumar in place of seam bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur.
This is the 100th Test match between the West Indies and India.
Former Indian captain and batting maestro Virat Kohli also reaches a notable milestone with this fixture, his 111th Test, which is his 500th international match overall for India, having also appeared in 274 One-day Internationals and 115 Twenty20 Internationals since appearing at the International stage in 2008.
Scoreboard
INDIA (1st Innings):
Y. Jaiswal not out 52
R. Sharma not out 63
EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-2) 6
TOTAL (for no wicket, 26 overs) 121
STILL TO BAT: S. Gill, V. Kohli, A. Rahane, R. Jadeja, I. Kishan, R. Ashwin, J. Unadkat, M. Siraj, M. Kumar
BOWLING: Roach 6-1-34-0 (1nb); Joseph 6-0-30-0 (1nb); Gabriel 4-0-24-0; Warrican 5-1-17-0; Holder 5-1-12-0
WEST INDIES: K. Brathwaite (captain), T. Chanderpaul, K. McKenzie, J. Blackwood, A. Athanaze, J. Da Silva (wicket-keeper), J. Holder,
A. Joseph, K. Roach, J. Warrican, S. Gabriel
UMPIRES: Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Richard Kettleborough (England)
TV UMPIRE: Michael Gough (England)
MATCH REFEREE: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023