India vs West Indies: 1st Test
The track at Kingston continued playing its tricks as the Indian bowlers took advantage of the tricky conditions to dismiss West Indies for 173 thus getting a handy lead of 73 runs. Although the ball was turning square on the flat deck, it was the medium pacers who made inroads in the West Indian lineup. Praveen Kumar was the star of the first session picking up three crucial wickets but it was Ishant Sharma who struck first blood early in the day.
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With the West Indians resuming the day at 34/1, they needed their experienced batsman Sarwan to stick around along with the talented Barath. But Ishant struck with his first ball of the day nipping the ball back in to trap Sarwan in front. Harbhajan continued to put the pressure on the batsman but Barath and Bravo defied the Indian spinner for over an hour with the former bringing up an attractive half century in the process.
Praveen Kumar, who had his share of critics for his lack of pace, showed that he didn’t need to be express quick to succeed at the highest level as he was brought back into the attack from the Michael Holding end. He first removed Barath with a peach of a delivery that got the batsman poking his bat on the way to the keeper. He then removed Bravo with a ball that moved away from the batsman and then got lucky as Nash played a rash shot. Praveen had 3 wickets in 14 balls and West Indies were tottering at 119/5 at lunch.
If the first session would be etched in the minds of Praveen forever, the second session was something he would want to forget as soon as possible. He was suspended from bowling after being warned thrice for running on the pitch. With a bowler short, Chanderpaul and Baugh tried to take advantage but the Indian bowlers stepped up a level. Harbhajan got Baugh to present a catch to silly point while Ishant made a mess of Sammy’s stumps. And when Chanderpaul got an edge to forward short leg, the Windies innings was all but over. Mishra wrapped up the innings with a couple of wickets as West Indies were bowled out for 173.
With 73 valuable runs in the pocket, the Indian batsmen would have wanted to put the match beyond the Windies’ reach. But Vijay was trapped plumb in front without disturbing the scorers after the ball kept low. Mukund and Dravid kept the bowlers at bay for a couple of hours. Dravid was his gritty resilient self while Mukund tried to make an impact on debut. After making 25 of 75 balls, Mukund finally lost concentration and threw his wicket. One wicket followed the other as Laxman departed soon after Sammy held on to a sharp return catch. Dravid, in the company of Kohli negotiated the rest of the day as the former went back into the hut on 45 with the score reading 91/3, a lead of 164 runs.
With the pitch becoming increasingly difficult to play on and with 3 days left to play, it definitely is Advantage India at the end of Day 2 of the first test!
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