A dramatic collapse of five wickets for 14 runs post-lunch session in St Lucia saw India get bundled out for 353; a total which never looked possible without hundreds from Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha.
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On Wednesday, he completed his second century of the series and his fourth against the Caribbeans 10 minutes after lunch. Having waited 281 deliveries for his first global wicket, Miguel Cummins then knocked over Ashwin and Ishant Sharma to give West Indies an acceptable first innings to contend with. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only other Indian wicketkeeper to record a hundred away from home – 148 vs Pakistan at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad in January 2006.
Ashwin thought he had been dismissed by seamer Shannon Gabriel while the batsman was on 35, before an umpire review determined that Gabriel had bowled a back foot no ball. Advancing down the pitch to Roston Chase, taking on the ball that was given just that bit of extra air, Ashwin launched it into the stands over mid-on, his timing immaculate and the connection clean enough to take the ball the distance.
The West Indies responded strongly to India’s first innings effort, reaching 107 for one at close of play to trail by 246 runs. Then I’m going to play percentage cricket. While Johnson looked okay, Kraigg Brathwaite looked extremely solid as he made his way to 53 from 143 balls.
Saha couldn’t go on for long though, edging Alzarri Joseph (3-69) behind soon after, bringing an end to the mega partnership that saved India the blushes.
India lead the four-test series 1-0 after winning the opener at North Sound on Antigua and drawing the second match at Kingston.
Four last Indian batsmen Ravindra Jadeja (6), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0), Mohammed Shami (0) and Ishant Sharma (0) failed to make any contribution. Having waited 281 balls for his first wicket, Cummins claimed three in 10 balls as India went from 339 for five to 354 all out, as life was breathed back into this Test after that tiresome first session. When I was closing in, my first goal was to get those five runs and reach the half-century that had eluded me. Ashwin, who ended on 118, was one of Cummins’s victims, awkwardly fending a short ball to point.
The left-hander faced 75 balls and struck two fours, and had added 59 for the first wicket with Brathwaite when he chanced a quick single to the right of KH Rahul’s at short mid-wicket, only to be beaten by a direct hit at the non-striker’s end.
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The Indian bowlers, who were getting some movement from the new ball, could not pick up a wicket. Once he surpassed his previous Test best of 60, Saha started playing more freely.
