West Indies were bowled out effectively under a session’s worth of batting as they handed India a 318-run win, their biggest away win by runs
The Report by Varun Shetty25-Aug-2019
West Indies were blown away by Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul, falling to 100 all out in what was effectively under a session’s worth of batting as they went down by 318 runs, the visitors’ biggest away win by runs. In the process, Bumrah became the first bowler from Asia to take five-wicket hauls in Australia, England, South Africa and the West Indies, in only his 11th Test. The win gave India a 1-0 lead in the two-match series and 60 points in their inaugural World Test Championship match.India had set the hosts a target of 419 after declaring on 343 for 7 with Ajinkya Rahane registering a century and Hanuma Vihari scoring a brisk 93. West Indies, in reply, lasted only 26.5 overs.ALSO READ – Sidharth Monga: Bumrah perfects the outswinger, his latest weaponBumrah’s spell was built around hitting the stumps, specifically the off stump, whether the batsman was right- or left-handed. He did this four times, all against West Indies’ recognised batsmen, on the back of fast-moving deliveries.Left-hand opener John Campbell tried to drive Bumrah through the off side but only managed to offer a wide passage for the ball to swing in late and knock the off stump over. It was a fiery stamp on the game from Bumrah, who had looked off-colour in the first innings because of a stiff back. As if to add further strength to that bounceback, Bumrah produced a repeat of the ball to Darren Bravo, smashing his off stump in much the same manner off what turned out to be the last ball of the second session, with West Indies on 15 for 5 after nearly 113 overs in the field.It had all started with Kraigg Brathwaite’s wicket in Bumrah’s first over. A loose prod at a wide outswinger was Brathwaite’s downfall, with the thin edge carrying conveniently through to the keeper. Debutant Shamarh Brooks was in early, as a result, but minutes after Bumrah’s inswinger rattled Campbell’s stumps, he was the victim of a big inswinger from Ishant Sharma and was trapped in front of leg stump as he fell over trying to flick.Jasprit Bumrah is swarmed by his team-mates•Getty Images
Bumrah could have had a fourth before tea – India bowled only 45 balls for the five wickets they picked up in that session – but the edge he induced with an outswinger to Shimron Hetmyer was dropped at third slip by Virat Kohli. Kohli was visibly relieved in the very next over as Hetmyer chased an outswinger from Ishant and Rahane held on to it safely at gully.West Indies had reshuffled their batting order, possibly because of Roston Chase’s 38 overs and two innings of wicketkeeping for Shai Hope. They were both pushed a spot down from the first-innings order, but found themselves in the middle after only 7.3 overs in the chase, trying to salvage something for the hosts.Bumrah was having none of it. While the wickets of Campbell and Bravo came from full swingers, he deceived Hope off the surface. Bumrah was barely short of a good length in the second innings, and this meant he could straighten one from middle stump past Hope’s outside edge. West Indies had only just got past the lowest Test total ever – 26 by New Zealand – at that point.An exasperated Jason Holder showed no signs of putting up a fight, swatting a short ball straight to backward square leg to be dropped by Vihari off Ishant, then pulling Ravindra Jadeja for four from a good length two overs later. He could only get as far as the second ball of Bumrah’s next over – an outswinger from middle stump that squared him up before taking out off stump. That was Bumrah’s fifth wicket.Moments after an ironic applause when West Indies made it to 50, Mohammed Shami bowled a peach that left Chase from a good length and took his off stump.Kemar Roach, among the best bowlers in the Test, albeit with little fortune, proved a thorn with the bat as well. He struck five sixes, including three off one Jadeja over, as he put together West Indies’ highest partnership of the match for the last wicket with Miguel Cummins. From 50 for 9, the pair took West Indies to 100 in under seven overs. Six cleanly-struck sixes helped that cause, but Ishant had Roach top-edge a pull 20 minutes from stumps as India sealed the win, which took Kohli past Sourav Ganguly’s 11 for most away wins as captain, and on par with MS Dhoni’s 27 wins overall.Ajinkya Rahane celebrates his hundred•Associated Press
West Indies’ batting was far removed from India’s effort earlier in the day. Having begun the day 260 ahead, they stretched the lead to 418 on the back of Rahane’s 102 and Vihari’s 93.Rahane’s hundred was his tenth in Tests, and his first since August 2017. It’s a milestone that has eluded him for a while, so when he did manage to find it with a tuck behind square, the relief was telling. Rahane smiled, stretched his arms as he acknowledged the dressing room, and then fell to his knees and rested his head on the bat to take a moment. It had been a long time coming.The man to take charge for India in the second session was Vihari, though. Aside from his driving, he also played the shot of the day, a ramp off Shannon Gabriel that went for six over the third-man boundary. On a slow pitch, it was also fitting that such a shot came from a man who had been in the Caribbean with the India A team since the start of the month.In the push for a declaration, Vihari was given the time to pursue his hundred even after Rishabh Pant holed out to deep backward square-leg. Vihari swept a ball from wide outside off past midwicket to get into the 90s, but fell shortly after, trying to pull Holder and getting himself cramped to edge the ball to the keeper down the leg side.The run to the declaration had been set up in a first session where Rahane oozed patience once again. His first-innings fifty had its moments of nervousness and fidgeting, but on Sunday, he barely provided a chance. Starting the day on 53, he made full use of West Indies’ reliance on spin and generous fields – point and long-on were perennially out – and continued to build his innings around singles and twos. When the partnership approached 100, even he couldn’t resist stretching his arms and creaming a Holder delivery wide of mid-off on the rise. It was Holder, though, who eventually held the catch at mid-off as Rahane tried to chip Gabriel. That ended the stand on 135 for the fifth wicket, adding to the 82 they had put up in the first innings to save India the blushes.It was one of the few moments of cheer for West Indies, who had begun what turned out to be a humiliating day, when Kohli fell in the second over of the day for 51 by handing a catch to extra cover off a leading edge.