A huge disappointment must be on the team India side as they look to sweep the series, but nature had some other plans. On the other hand, West Indies showed some promising batting in the 2nd Test. There were some positive outcomes in the Test series for both sides. India gets a prominent left-hander after a long time, Yashasvi Jaiswal. West Indies also gets Alick Athanaze who shows determination to stick to the crease for a longer duration.
Some key highlights in this match:
On the 1st day, West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl, whereas India wanted to bat first, so both of them got what they wanted. The Indian opening duo again works and both of them, Rohit and Yashasvi, show good hands at the start. Virat plays his 500th international match.
On the 2nd day, Virat scored his 76th total international and 29th Test century. Ashwin also adds some valuable runs in the end and helps India to get par 400 score. West Indies plays in a full defensive manner.
On the 3rd day, due to rain only 67 overs were bowled and Caribbeans were able to survive without getting much loss.
On the 4th day, India got the remaining Caribbean batsmen early and got a lead of 183 runs. Siraj claims 5 wickets. Indian batters showed destruction from the start in the 2nd innings, as many overs were wasted due to rain. India declares their innings on 181/2, Ishan scores his debut half-century in Test. Then Ashwin strikes 2 wickets before the day ends.
On the 5th day, due to continuous rain and thunderstorms, the match was called off. As a result India won the series by 1-0.
Mohd Siraj, Awarded as Player of the Match,
“This is my first Player of the Match award in tests, very pleased. There wasn’t much help for the pacers. I kept my plans simple and executed. When you pick wickets in conditions like this, you get loads of confidence. Rohit bhai asked me to believe in myself, not take any pressure and enjoy.”
Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies Captain,
“We showed some fight in this game with the bat. Bowling-wise, we can be more disciplined. It was a good comeback from the batters. We lost five wickets yesterday, that wasn’t good. Top-order batting 100+ overs is pleasing. We were positive, we had 98 overs on a pitch that was relatively good. Chase was on. Unfortunately with the weather, we didn’t get a chance.
….Athanaze looked good from the word go. From the Dominica Test, he belonged. They have good pitches in Australia. Continue working on your game, come and enjoy it. Kirk Mckenzie looked good in his first match. These two guys have promise. They are the future. I have a lot of belief in these two. It’ll be good to have some camps, some match practices. Using Kookaburra balls, preparation is important. We need to bat for longer periods against good teams. Some countries have club cricket going on.”
Rohit Sharma, India Captain,
“Every win is different. Playing in WI has its own challenge. Happy with the way things went. We gave it a good shot, unfortunately we couldn’t get any plans today. We actually went out with a positive intent yesterday. Rain had its final say. We were quite confident. You know how difficult it is batting last. We always wanted that kind of score where we wanted the opposition to go for it. There wasn’t much on the surface.
….No plan today, unfortunate for us. Siraj, I have been watching him closely. He’s taken such a giant step. He has led this attack. I don’t want anyone to lead the attack. I want everyone to lead when they are having the ball in their hand. You want the entire pace battery taking the responsibility. You need guys like Ishan Kishan. We wanted quick runs, we promoted him, he wasn’t afraid.
….He was the first one to put his hand up. In Test matches, you need guys who stabilize the innings like what Virat Kohli did, he played superbly. You need a mixture of everything. We have depth, we have got variety. We are in the right place. It’s about getting the job done. I always believe in getting better as a team. I said that after the World Test Championship final as well. We’ve played consistent cricket. That’s what we are looking at.
….We want to focus on all three aspects of the game. We need to be a good fielding unit. Bowlers, how they respond under pressure. What sort of mindset batters go in under challenging conditions. That’s what I am looking forward to.”