Hyderabad, Oct 12: Roston Chase continued his good form with the bat and remained just two runs shy of a fine century while skipper Jason Holder scored a valuable half-century as Windies showed some fightback on the opening day of the Test against India here on Friday (October 12).
Windies scored 295/7 in 95 overs when the umpires signalled the close of the day's play. Chase will now resume his innings from 98* on the second day and would first aim to complete his ton on Saturday.
The tourists squandered the edge in the morning session of the day's play as skipper Holder opted to bat first after winning the toss. Indian bowlers bowled well even as debutant pacer Shardul Thakur went back to the dressing room after sustaining an injury in the fourth over of the innings.
India were forced to introduce the spinners early on but Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav the hosts don't miss the services of Thakur too much. Kuldeep (3/73) and Umesh (3/83) bagged three-wickets apiece to keep the tourists on the backfoot as half of side was back into the dressing room for 113.
Openers Kraigg Brathwaite (12) and Kieran Powell (22) started the proceedings well but were dismissed soon after the spinners were introduced. Shai Hope (36) looked in sublime touch but he became a victim of Umesh Yadav after Kohli took DRS to perfection. Shimron Hetmyer (12) and Sunil Ambris (10) were then quickly removed by Kuldeep and left the team in the lurch.
But a partnership of 59-run stand between Shane Dowrich (30) and Chase and later a 104-run stand between Chase and Holder ensured the visitors ended the day's play on a high.
Holder was looking in sublime touch before he fell prey to Umesh in the 90th over of the day.
Earlier in the day, the tourists' captain returned to the side for the second Test match and elected to bat first after winning.
India are leading the two-match series 1-0 and would be looking to clean sweep the series but the tourists, who are boosted with the inclusion of their captain and key pacer Holder, are looking to give some fight at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
As the day happened:
Umesh Yadav (3/83) and Kuldeep Yadav (3/73) were the pick of the bowlers for India while R Ashwin (1/49) was the other bowler who grabbed wicket.
Stumps! Umpires signal end of the day's play as West Indies reach 296/7 in 95 overs. India's bowling rate was exceptional today. Roston Chase (98*) batted superbly and is two shy of another composed ton. Captain Jason Holder too played a valuable knock of 52 runs before Umesh Yadav broke the 104-run stand between him and Chase for the seventh wicket. The tourists recovered well after the top-order collapsed in the morning session.
Excellent recovery by West Indies. So good to see this fightback. Chase and Holder, individually and together, showed up top order’s lack of application. 80-90 runs more — not easy — would put Indian batting under pressure.
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 12, 2018
Wicket! 104-run stand between Holder and Chase has been broken. Umesh Yadav gets rid of Jason Holder for 52. West Indies have lost their 7th wicket for 287 and 90 overs have already been bowled. The match will continue for another 15 minutes.
Fifty! A captain's innings from Jason Holder, his 8th in Test cricket. He also stitched a 100-run stand with Chase for the 7th wicket and revived the tourists.
The partnership between Chase and Holder is frustrating the hosts. They are trying everything to get a breakthrough. WI - 255/6 after 81 overs.
Drinks taken after 81 overs at Hyderabad. I hope the Indian support staff use this opportunity to tell the players on the field that there hasn't been a Maiden Over bowled since the 40th over! #INDvWI
— Arun Gopalakrishnan (@statanalyst) October 12, 2018
A boundary from Jason Holder and this brings up the fifty-run stand between him and Chase. Windies' lower-order is helping them recover after top order collapse. WI - 239/6 after 77 overs.
Good to see the West Indies making a fight of it. Roston Chase is a good cricketer and I have a lot of time for Jason Holder.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 12, 2018
After 77 overs, West Indies have reached 220/6. Chase 64* and Holder 18* have hung on and these two are countering the Indian bowlers pretty well.
DRS Lost! Virat Kohli went upstairs after an ambitious appeal of LBW was turned down by umpire Bruce Oxenford. The replay showed ball was pitching outside leg stumps. India lost their first review.
Play resumes! Chase and Holder resume Windies innings in the final session of the day. Teammates would hope these senior pros dig deep and take them to a respectable total in the first innings after top order failed yet again.
Tea break! West Indies are 197/6 after 65 overs. Roston Chase is batting well at 50 while Jason Holder is present on the other side for 10.
Wicket! Umesh traps Shane Dowrich in front for 30 and India get their sixth wicket via DRS. The umpire hadn't ruled in favour but the bowler looked convinced and Kohli went upstairs. Ball tracking proved the appeal right and India got their sixth wicket. WI- 182/6.
West Indies' last recognised pair of batsmen, Roston Chase and Shane Dowrich, are present into the middle and they are batting well against Indian spinners and reviving the tourists. WI reach 150/5 in 48 overs.
West Indies - 117/5 after 41 overs. The Chinaman is troubling tourists with his spin.
Wicket! Kuldeep Yadav gets a third wicket as Sunil Ambris gives a simple catch to Ravindra Jadeja standing at cover. The Windies batting line-up is once again crumbling. WI - 113/5 in 39 overs.
💯 Comes up for the tourists with a boundary off Umesh. Chase flicked the ball towards mid-wicket and it raced towards the fence. There was a hint of reverse swing for the pacer on that ball. WI - 101/4 after 36 overs.
Wicket! Kuldeep Yadav has bagged his second wicket of the innings as he's trapped Hetmyer for 12 and Windies have lost their 4th wicket for 92.
500 First Class Wickets for Ashwin!
Indian bowlers fastest to 500 first-class wickets (fewest matches):
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) October 12, 2018
90 Amar Singh
103 Padmakar Shivalkar
106 Vaman Kumar
107 RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN
110 Subhash Gupte / Bhagwat Chandrasekhar
112 Erapalli Prasanna / Anil Kumble#INDvWI #WIvIND
Wicket! Umesh Yadav gets a breakthrough just before lunch break and India have got the third wicket. Shai Hope was looking dangerous and he's been trapped for 36. Windies - 86/3 in 31.3 overs. This has been a dominating session from the hosts after visitors opted to bat first. Ashwin and Kuldeep have also bagged a wicket each in the opening session itself.
West Indies may have squandered advantage of winning the toss already by losing three wickets in first session. Need at least 350 to be competitive
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 12, 2018
India went upstairs to review LBW call against Shai Hope but the ball tracking rules umpire's call. India didn't lose their review. Windies - 80/2 after 30 overs.
Wicket! Kuldeep Yadav gives Windies their second jolt as he traps Kraigg Brathwaite for 22. The batsman opted for a review but in vain. WI - 52/2 after 23 overs.
West Indies 47/1 after 22 overs.
Wicket! R Ashwin draws the first blood for India as he removes Kieran Powell for 22. It was a premeditated shot from the opener and Ravindra Jadeja pouches it comfortably. WI - 32/1 in 11.1 overs.
MILESTONE ALERT: The wicket of Kieran Powell was wicket number 500 for @ashwinravi99 in first-class cricket. Congratulations!
— Arun Gopalakrishnan (@statanalyst) October 12, 2018
After 10 overs, Windies have scored 31 without any loss. A decent batting performance from their openers Kieran Powell and Kraigg Brathwaite. They have played some attacking shots and Powell used the DRS wisely to save himself.
Reprieve! Kieran Powell (16) survives as he uses the DRS to overturn the LBW decision against him. There was an edge from the bat which the field umpire failed to read. WI - 26/0 after 6 overs.
West Indies are off to a decent start as they have reached 26/0 after 5 overs.
Injury Scare? Shardul Thakur has hurt his groin and being taken out of the field for some treatment in his very second over of the day's play. He's bowled just 10 deliveries and walked out of the field. It's a matter of concern for skipper Kohli for India are playing with just two quicks and they'll be forced to introduce spin early from the other end.
1.4 overseas into his Test debut Shardul hobbles off the field with a suspected groin...the same he suffered in the Asia Cup. This is another Kedar incident in Test cricket now..injuries..rehab and then repeat injury. Very very worrying. #indvwi
— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) October 12, 2018
Shardul Thakur bowls his first over in Test cricket and leaks just 1 run off it. That over should have calmed his nerves. West Indies - 9/0 after 2 overs.
Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell open innings for Windies and Umesh Yadav starts with the new ball for India. The has a poor start as he concedes two boundaries in the very first over. Wayward bowling from the strike pacer as he didn't get the line he was looking for all along.
A moment to remember and cherish for Shardul Thakur.
📸📸
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 12, 2018
Moment to cherish 🤙👏#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/a5Hm9g3wiE
Thakur gets his debut cap!
👏👏 Proud moment for @imShard as he receives his Test cap from @RaviShastriOfc, becomes the 294th player to represent #TeamIndia in Tests.#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/2XcClLka9a
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 12, 2018
India have rested their strike pacer Mohammad Shami and handed over the debut cap to Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur. Ironically, Thakur was first picked up for the Indian side when Virat Kohli and company last toured West Indies for a Test series. However, it remains to be seen if the right-arm pacer returns to the field on day two or second innings or ruled out of the game.