[Sports]Ravichandran Ashwin snares another seven as India thrash West Indies in first Test

[FRIDAY THE 13]

The longevity of the first Test always depended on how long the Indian first innings lasted. So, once skipper Rohit Sharma decided, just over 40 minutes after lunch on the third day, that a lead of 271 was enough, it was only a question of how long the West Indies would survive.

The answer: not very long, just over the length of an ODI innings. Spin was introduced in the fifth over of the hosts’ second essay, and Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared the first four wickets – interestingly, the off-spinner getting two right-handers, and the left-arm spinner two left-handers – as the West Indies were reduced to 58/5 inside 30 overs.

And when Ashwin had the impressive debutant Alick Athanaze caught at short leg, the writing on the wall said that the Test won’t see a fourth day. A victory margin of an innings and 141 runs points to a one-horse race.

When the dust settled, Ashwin, who couldn’t find a place in the playing XI for last month’s World Test Championship (WTC) final, had added 7/71 to his five in the first innings. It became so routine for him that the master off-spinner even stopped celebrating his wickets.

The hosts’ totals of 150 and 130 were comfortably outscored by debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal, telling the tale of India’s domination in Dominica.

The West Indies are no longer one of the stronger sides in international cricket – as their recent debacles in white-ball formats would testify. This Test series was an opportunity to get some positive feeling back in Caribbean cricket, and it was not just up to the players out in the middle.

Whoever was responsible for dishing out a pitch that made the Indian spinners feel right at home disadvantaged the home side to a great extent. The surface was akin to what one would expect in Delhi or Mumbai, prepared to make quick work of visiting teams. Rahkeem Cornwall and Jamal Warrican weren’t equipped to make full use of the facilities. A more pace-friendly wicket would have brought the likes of Kemar Roach, Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph into play to a larger extent, and possibly could have even allowed the inclusion of Shannon Gabriel.

As it turned out, the West Indian batsmen were nowhere good enough to deal with one of the most potent double spin acts in the history of the game. All but eight of the 50.3 overs in the second innings were bowled by the two Indian spinners, and 17 of the 20 West Indian wickets in the game were shared by Ashwin and Jadeja.

Earlier, Virat Kohli struggled through an innings that made him look like an ordinary mortal. It had little to do with the challenge posed by the West Indian bowlers. There was not much in the form of sustained excellence in either pace or spin, but Kohli was given some anxious moments nevertheless.

Starting the third day on 36, he could have been sent back for 40 had Kraigg Brathwaite held on to a very catchable uppish drive off Warrican at short cover. He could have been out in the first over after lunch had wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva held on to a regulation outside edge when Kohli went for a loose drive outside off-stump. He was on 72 then.

 

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