Lunch West Indies 68 for 4 (Athanaze 13*, Ashwin 2-25, Jadeja 1-6) vs India
At the picturesque Windsor Park, things were not looking very rosy for West Indies as India reduced them to 68 for 4 at lunch on the opening day of the first Test.
In the morning, Brathwaite won the toss and opted to bat first on a pitch with plenty of moisture in it. Siraj found the movement off the surface to beat Brathwaite’s outside edge three times in one over but he also strayed down the leg side on a few occasions. Jaydev Unadkat was a lot more disciplined, bowling two maidens and conceding just four runs in his first four overs. He did fetch Brathwaite’s outside edge but it fell well short of second slip.
Ashwin was introduced into the attack as early as the ninth over. He found Chanderpaul’s inside edge with his very first ball but it went past short leg.
But the offspinner wasn’t to be denied for long. In his third over, Ashwin went wide of the crease from around the wicket and got the ball to land around middle stump. Chanderpaul looked to defend on the front foot but the ball turned just enough to beat the outside edge and hit the top of off. Having accounted for Shivnarine Chanderpaul four times in the past, Ashwin became the fifth bowler to dismiss a father-son pair in Test cricket.
Continuing around the wicket, Ashwin got rid of Brathwaite too. The West Indies captain tried to loft him over mid-on; instead, he ended up skying it to Rohit Sharma at extra cover.
Thakur had Raymon Reifer caught behind in his first over, courtesy of a low catch by debutant Ishan Kishan. He could have had Jermaine Blackwood too but the leading edge just evaded a diving Shubman Gill at cover.
At the time of the lunch interval, Alick Athanaze, who received his Test cap from Desmond Haynes earlier in the day, was batting on 13.
