Ashwin double strike piles pressure on Windies
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (AFP) — Ravichandran Ashwin snared two wickets for India but the West Indies showed a measure of resistance in reaching 76 for two after being set a daunting victory target of 365 on the fourth day of the second and final Test on Sunday.
A day packed with action at Queen’s Park Oval in-between short, sharp showers saw Mohammed Siraj scything through the lower half of the home side’s first innings in the morning to earn his team a 183-run lead.
Blistering half-centuries by India Captain Rohit Sharma (57) and wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan (52 not out) then facilitated a swift second-innings declaration at 181 for two off just 24 overs.
Ashwin, destroyer of the West Indies in the first Test in Dominica with an 11-wicket match haul, removed home skipper Kraigg Brathwaite to a top-edged sweep and then had debutant Kirk McKenzie lbw without scoring.
However the obdurate Tagenarine Chanderpaul, very much in the mould of his celebrated father Shivnarine, stayed to the close with Vice-Captain Jermaine Blackwood.
A target of 289 more runs on a final-day pitch should be a step too far for the Caribbean side, especially given the greater experience, competence, and confidence of an Indian side pressing for a 2-0 series sweep at the start of the new World Test Championship cycle.
In humid conditions at the start of the day Siraj claimed the last four wickets to finish with his best Test figures of five for 60 as the West Indies crashed from an overnight position of 229 for five to 255 all out, their last five wickets tumbling for just 26 runs.
“I knew what the team needed from me in a short span of time, and the backing of Virat Kohli really relaxed me to play my game,” said Kishan at the end of a long final session.
SCOREBOARD
India 1st Innings 438
West Indies 1st Innings (overnight 229 for five)
*K Brathwaite b Ashwin 75
T Chanderpaul c Ashwin b Jadeja 33
K McKenzie c wkp Ishan Kishan b Mukesh Kumar 32
J Blackwood c Rahane b Jadeja 20
A Athanaze lbw b Mukesh Kumar 37
+J Da Silva b Mohammed Siraj 10
J Holder c wkp Ishan Kishan b Mohammed Siraj 15
A Joseph lbw b Mohammed Siraj 4
K Roach c wkp Ishan Kishan b Mohammed Siraj 4
J Warrican not out 7
S Gabriel lbw b Mohammed Siraj 0
Extras (b4, lb1, w5, nb8) 18
Total (all out, 115.4 overs) 255
Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-117, 3-157, 4-178, 5-208, 6-229, 7-233, 8-244, 9-255, 10-255
Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 23.4-6-60-5 (nb1), Jaydev Unadkat 16-3-44-0, Ashwin 33-10-61-1, Mukesh Kumar 18-6-48-2 (w1, nb4), Ravindra Jadeja 25-10-37-2 (nb3)
India 2nd Innings
Y Jaiswal c wkp Da Silva b Warrican 38
*Rohit Sharma c Joseph b Gabriel 57
S Gill not out 29
+Ishan Kishan not out 52
Extras (b1, lb2, w1, nb1) 5
Total (2 wkts decl, 24 overs) 181
Did not bat: V Kohli, A Rahane, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, J Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar
Fall of wickets: 1-98, 2-102
Bowling: Roach 4-0-46-0, Joseph 4-0-37-0 (nb1), Holder 4-0-26-0 (w1), Gabriel 6-0-33-1, Warrican 6-0-36-1.
West Indies 2nd Innings (target: 365 runs)
K Brathwaite c Unadkat b Ashwin 28
T Chanderpaul not out 24
K McKenzie lbw b Ashwin 0
J Blackwood not out 20
Extras (b2, lb1, nb1) 4
Total (2 wkts, 32 overs) 76
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-44
To bat: A Athanaze, +J Da Silva, J Holder, A Joseph, K Roach, J Warrican, S Gabriel
Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 8-2-24-0, Mukesh Kumar 5-4-5-0 (nb1), Unadkat 3-2-1-0, Ashwin 11-2-33-2, Jadeja 5-1-10-0
Position: West Indies require a further 289 runs with eight wickets intact.
Toss: West Indies
Umpires: Marais Erasmus, Richard Kettleborough; TV – Michael Gough