West Indies bravely chose to bat first on yesterday’s opening day of the second Test match at Sabina Park, but by the end of it, they were staring down the barrel as India reached stumps on 126-1 in reply to the hosts’ mediocre 196.

Opener Lokesh Rahul, playing his sixth Test match because Murali Vijay was forced out with injury, is unbeaten on 75 runs for the Indians. Set to resume with him this morning at 10:00 is Cheteshwar Pujara, who is not out on 18.

Before that, 29-year-old off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took his 18th five-wicket haul in 34 Tests on a pitch that offered turn and bounce to finish with 5-52.

Jamaican Jermaine Blackwood, played his natural attacking game en route to a run-a-ball 62.

Scores: West Indies 196 (52.3 overs); India 126-1 (37 overs)

Earlier, when West Indies Captain, Jason Holder bravely chose to bat first under mostly overcast conditions, the Indian pace bowlers and their skipper Virat Kohli must have been licking their fingers.

Holder, apparently trying to avoid batting last on the surface, chose to ignore the threat posed by India’s pace attack, undoubtedly inspired by the prospects of preparation moisture in the surface and the light covering of grass. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are quite capable of swinging the new ball, while the tall Ishant Sharma usually extracts plenty bounce and sometimes sharp sideways movement.

While Sharma and Shami started well with probing spells, the West Indies batsmen were guilty of poor technique as they slumped to 7-3 inside the sixth over.

The usually resolute Kraigg Brathwaite (one) fended amateurishly at a short delivery from Sharma to lob a catch straight into the hands of short leg fielder Pujara.

To the very next ball, left-hander Darren Bravo, who has looked strangely out of sorts this series, went forward in circumspect fashion to a ball outside off stump and edged for second slip fielder Kohli to dive to his right and take the catch. It was a well-worked plan by India to have Sharma start around the wicket and angle the ball into Bravo, but the batsman would have been disappointed that he played at it.

Hunting the hat-trick, Sharma was right on line with a delivery that darted in as Marlon Samuels made a stride forward, but the ball hit the batsman high up the inner thigh.

Shami soon joined the wicket-taking party when opener Rajendra Chandrika (five) —not for the first time in his five-Test career — was dismissed hanging his bat away from his body to a length delivery that shaped harmlessly away. Rahul, waiting in a floating fourth slip position, appeared grateful for the catching practice.

A counter-attacking fourth-wicket partnership of 81 runs was then formed between the pair of Blackwood and his compatriot Marlon Samuels.

The 35-year-old Samuels was calm, assured and apparently unfazed, though taking 30 balls to get off the mark.

Blackwood, whose inclusion in the 11 for this Test surprised some, was the opposite. Struggling for form in recent outings, he appeared to take the bull by the horns after a nervous start.

His first scoring shot was a slash outside off stump that flew to the point boundary for four. Thereafter it was mostly fours and sixes as Blackwood took a preference for the aerial route.

Even the introduction of Ashwin, who took seven wickets in his last outing against the West Indies, did nothing to stymie Blackwood’s aggressive approach as the spinner was also thumped over the boundary ropes for six. Ashwin, however, did have the last laugh when Blackwood was given out leg before wicket to a sharply turning off-spinner just before the lunch break.

At first, some thought it was a harsh decision, but replay technology suggested the ball would have clipped the leg stump. Blackwood hit seven fours and four sixes.

The stylish Samuels (37) let loose with several attacking shots upon the resumption, including three consecutive fours off short deliveries from Sharma, but he too fell to Ashwin. Samuels took a step down the wicket and flicked to the onside but could only get an inside edge onto his pad that lobbed to close-in fielder Rahul.

Dowrich (five), Chase (10), Bishoo (12) and Holder (13) all fell cheaply as the visitors tightened the noose around the West Indians’ throats.

However, an enterprising last-wicket stand worth 38 runs between debutante Miguel Cummins, who made 24 not out, and Shannon Gabriel (15) brought momentary life into the innings and brought West Indies four short of 200.

It was a whole different picture when India batted, albeit by afternoon the pitch had dried out somewhat.

The silky smooth Rahul and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan were fairly comfortable from early on, despite a lively burst from pacemen Gabriel and Cummins.

The pair added 87 runs by the 20th over before off-spinner Chase grabbed his first Test wicket to dismiss Dhawan for a patient 27.

While Chase and the West Indies would have been very pleased with the breakthrough, it was a loose drive from Dhawan that saw him being caught low at cover by Bravo.

At the other end, Rahul, who has struck 10 fours from 114 balls, kept the West Indies fielders busy with crisp drives, particularly straight down the ground, either side of the wicket.

On the rare occasion that he played a loose shot, the West Indies gave him a reprieve.

Bravo was the culprit when he failed to hold onto a sharp chance at short mid-wicket when Rahul, who was on 46, dragged a fullish ball to the on-side.

Given that Rahul has scored a century each time he has passed 16 runs in his short Test career, the West Indies ought to be thinking another big milestone is on the horizon for the Indian opening batsman.