Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha struck fine hundreds before India suffered a batting collapse to be 353 all out in the second session on day two of the third Test against the West Indies here today.
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Their unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership of 108 occupied nearly 41 overs and rescued the tourists from the considerable discomfort of 126 for five just before tea with West Indies’ second Test hero Roston Chase and debutant fast bowler Alzarri Joseph taking two wickets each to vindicate their captain’s decision to bowl first on winning the toss.
They extended their unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership to 190 (an Indian record against the West Indies), turning the match around after they had come together at 126 for five on Tuesday. The young fast bowler picked up his third wicket of the game, as he had Saha caught behind by Shane Dowrich for 104 with a full delivery that shaped away just enough to take the edge with India’s score at 339.
Four last Indian batsmen Ravindra Jadeja (6), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0), Mohammed Shami (0) and Ishant Sharma (0) failed to make any contribution.
But Kraigg Brathwaite, on 53, and Darren Bravo, on 18, saw out the remainder of the day without further incident to end on 107/1, still 246 runs behind India’s first-innings total. There was more objective to their attack, after putting India in, than in the first two Tests. Ashwin was joined by Wriddhiman Saha who notched up his maiden century in Tests. As a result, they scored just 21 runs in the first hour, but after that, Saha changed into aggressive mode and capitalised on a few scoring chances.
Off-spinner Roston Chase finished with two for 70.
West Indies has slowly grown into the series, following a spirited fightback to draw the second test in Jamaica. He already had two tons against the Islanders before the series began, but he has turned out to be one of India’s best batsmen in this series.
Cummins, who took three wickets in the first innings of the third Test after a wicketless debut in the second match, said that he tried to build pressure and did not allow himself to be flustered in the innings.
# In matches batting first, Ashwin has scored three consecutive fifties – his sequence being 56 vs South Africa at Delhi in December 2015; 113 at North Sound in July 2016 and 75 not out at Gros Islet in August – both vs West Indies.
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In the very next over, on 26, Ashwin was nearly caught at forward short leg, the ball just dropping short off Roston Chase’s bowling.
