The importance of Kumble the coach for India's bowlers

The new coach is already making a difference to Ashwin's overseas record, and his partnership with Kohli could be fruitful too

Is it a coincidence that R Ashwin reached new heights as a spinner in away Tests after Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble came together? I believe not, for the two are among the most positive thinkers on the game that Indian cricket knows, and I am sure they have given Ashwin and the other
 Indian bowlers a dose of the sort of confidence they have rarely known before.

While his promotion in the batting order in the first Test must have done Ashwin's self-belief a world of good, we learn from the man himself that he successfully overcome his frustration at his lack of wickets in the first innings in Antigua thanks to Kumble's counselling.

Kumble obviously knows from his own experience that bowlers sometimes go unrewarded while doing everything right, but not all bowlers recognise this fact. In their anxiety to get wickets, they may end up trying too hard and eventually lose the plot altogether, instead of calmly continuing to do what they have been doing and waiting patiently for their luck to turn.

I never played international cricket and do not know firsthand what it is to feel the pressures of bowling at that level, but in my own cricket career I knew how to deal with wicketlessness. It never bothered me so long as I knew I was bowling well.

(Actually, that last statement was not entirely true. There came a time when I did become anxious for wickets, and that was the beginning of the end of my bowling career.)

As a specialist bowler Kumble brings a rare advantage to his job. He understands bowling and bowlers in a way batsmen-coaches can seldom do. In his all-too-short stint as captain of India, he handled bowlers perhaps better than most of his predecessors did.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, in his second reign as captain, and Ajit Wadekar, with their different approaches, used their bowling resources well. Pataudi relied heavily on spinners and so did Wadekar, who was a little more defensive in his approach in a typically Mumbai style.

Between Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid (or even Dravid and MS Dhoni), Dravid was usually more ready to go for the kill, especially in the matter of timing declarations. Both he and Ganguly had Kumble and Harbhajan Singh at their command, though India sometimes went in with only one of them in the XI.

As captain, Kumble himself insisted on two spinners in the XI, and used Harbhajan very effectively. He was also not averse to giving Virender Sehwag relatively long spells as an offspinner, or trying to include Ganguly the medium-pacer in his scheme of things.

As coach, Kumble has even greater freedom to try out his bowling theories than he had in his captaincy days (as he doesn't have to deal with thinking of when to bring himself on or take himself off), though he still needs to sell his ideas to Kohli.

In fact, the Kohli-Kumble partnership could be the ideal coach-captain combination, with Kohli bringing a complementary batsman-captain's perspective into their discussions. It helps that both of them are equally aggressive in intent and tend to back the bowlers. Both seem to allow the bowlers to express themselves without inhibition.

Bowling allrounder Kapil Dev handled his bowlers remarkably well in the 1983 World Cup and also in Test cricket, leading India to a 2-0 triumph in England, where he marshalled his resources - Chetan Sharma, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Kapil himself and spinner Maninder Singh - admirably.

At a recent cricket-related event, Kapil spoke of the problems he had communicating with one of his favourite bowlers, Roger Binny. "He didn't know Hindi and I didn't know English.'' But Kapil also said that discussions between captain and bowler could assume greater importance than they deserve. "There was little conversation possible between me and Roger, so I left him alone, and he bowled very well. It's sometimes good to leave bowlers alone."

There can be such a thing as too much communication from the captain to the bowlers, as we saw during Sachin Tendulkar's captaincy, or too little, as was sometimes evident when Dhoni led the side. It's early days still, but the Kumble-Kohli partnership does augur well for India's bowlers in the long run, though the pair will be tested by stronger teams than West Indies.

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES 2ND TEST 2016 DRAW

India vs West Indies: Losing More Than 100 Overs Was Crucial, Says Anil Kumble 

India head coach Anil Kumble hailed Roston Chase for his magnificent 137-run knock but rued that losing more than 100 overs in the Jamaica Test was one of the most important factors that helped the West Indies pull off a draw.

Led by Mohammed Shami, Indian bowlers ran through the Windies' top-order on the fourth morning before rain wiped out play in the final two sessions of the day, after which their lower-middle order resisted through the whole of Day five

"Obviously, we wanted to win this Test match. Yesterday, we were in a very good position and credit to the West Indies batsmen, the way they batted," said Kumble after the match ended in a draw.
"Yesterday, time was very crucial for us because we were in great momentum and the conditions were such that it could have been different if we had probably bowled more. There was loss of play, more than 100 overs were lost in this Test match. So all those factors mattered. In the end, credit to the West Indian batsmen in terms of how they batted and their application as well," he added.

Talking about Chase in particular, the former Indian captain said,"It is creditable for someone playing in his second Test match, to be able to bat through the day and save the game for his team. Chase's approach today was very good. He looked to attack when needed to and blocked literally every ball. So he kept our bowlers at bay, which was obviously disappointing from the outside.

"I think all their batsmen, right from Jermaine Blackwood, Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich, all of them applied themselves. It's something that we also have to sit down and analyze as to how we're going to get the last five wickets because in this series they have certainly contributed," he added.
India bowled out West Indies for just 196 in their first innings. KL Rahul's third Test hundred and Ajinkya Rahane's unbeaten 108-run knock helped India put on a humongous total of 500/9d. The scoring rate was a bit low as compared to the Antigua Test, and particularly in light of the tropical storm hitting Jamaica on day three and four.

"You can't really look at the forecast and take decisions," said the coach.
"If you looked at the forecast on day three, it was supposed to rain the whole day, and even on day four it was supposed to rain. So you can't really look at the forecast and decide what you need to do. Yes, you strategize slightly differently."

"Having said that, we wanted to bat once because we didn't want to declare with just a lead of 160 runs and then bat again on the fifth day. I thought we played really good cricket and we were dominant right throughout. Today the change in momentum happened and credit to the West Indies' batsmen."

The Indian coach accepted that the position that they were in, Kohli and co. should have won the match.

"From the position, we were in, we should have probably wrapped up the Test match, but having said that this is certainly something that happens in a Test match. Sometimes the opposition puts up a brave challenge and that's exactly what happened," he added.
Despite being reduced to 48/4 on the rain-marred day four then, West Indies were able to put up a momentous batting display and get away with a draw in this second Test. While Chase's knock must be celebrated, at the same time, it ought to be mentioned that a five-bowler attack couldn't take six wickets on fifth day pitch.

"The plan was always to take wickets. Initially, since we had 300 runs on the board, we were attacking and they came hard at us as well, and they got away in the five or six overs. They got a lot
of runs.

"And once that period happened, I believe the ball went a bit soft as well. So it was quite difficult to get the purchase that we were getting yesterday and the conditions were different as well."

Kumble admitted that overcast conditions on the fourth day helped the seamers get more swing.
"It was cloudy, there was some rain about and there was a lot more swing yesterday. So in that sense, we could have probably adapted better. Having said that though, the West Indies' batsmen really applied themselves, so it was quite hard for our bowlers and this was certainly a learning spell. I'm sure on the next opportunity, whenever that is, the bowlers will be probably come up with a different approach, in terms of the challenge," Kumble signed off.

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES TEST SERIES 2016

Hope replaces Chandrika in West Indies Test squad

West Indies have included Shai Hope, the 22-year-old opening batsman from Barbados, in their squad for the third Test against India, which begins on August 9 in St Lucia. Hope replaces Rajendra Chandrika, who made scores of 16, 31, 5 and 1 in the first two Tests, and saw his Test average drop to 14.00, the worst by any West Indies opener who has played 10 or more innings.

Hope, a right-hand batsman who is also capable of keeping wickets, has played six Tests so far, scoring 171 runs at an average of 15.54. He has been in excellent form in recent months, with two hundreds in his last four matches in the WICB Professional Cricket League four-day tournament, and a century for the WICB President's XI in the Indians' first warm-up match in St Kitts.
The selectors have made no other changes to West Indies' 14-man squad. India lead the four-Test
series 1-0.

West Indies squad for third Test: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels.

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES, 2ND TEST - DAY 5

Classy Chase ton leads West Indies to Improbable Draw

There is a lot to be said of Roston Chsse. He's languid at the crease. He plays late and close to his body. He wasn't perturbed by a tough situation. And his timing stood out. Two days short of 50 years since it was last done for West Indies and six days after the 80th birthday of the man who did it, Chase achieved the double of a century and a a five-for in the same Test. In the process he helped pull off an improbable draw: batting for survival, West Indies had lost four wickets in 15.5 overs on day four, but on the final day they gave up only two.

Chase looked correct when he defended, graceful when he attacked and bloody determined all through. Sir Garry Sobers would've enjoyed a fellow Bajan emulating his feat with an innings like that.

On a wet day four, along with 82.1 overs, it appeared West Indies' fight had gone missing too. Their openers fell early, and in ungainly fashion. One senior player fell for a duck and another was a sitting duck against a short ball. It had become a walk in the park for India. This morning, however, they were stuck in the mud. The first 25 balls cost 40 runs. The fast bowlers were hit through the line and over the top. The spinners were hit against the turn. Chase had finally made it a contest. At tea, he had the favourites sweating. An hour and a half later, he made Virat Kohli concede and take the draw. The first draw at Sabina Park since 1998.

India tried to bounce Chase, he pulled them away. India used reverse swing, he kept them out shortening his backlift. India tried to spin him out, but his open stance showed him exactly what was coming at him. On 99, he flicked a ball on his pads right through the man at midwicket, completed the single and celebrated his first Test hundred in his second Test match by crossing his hands in the shape of an X over his head. His coach and team-mates were clapping with gusto. Sir Viv Richards was up on his feet screaming "Roston!"

From the other end, Jamaica's own Jermaine Blackwood smashed 63 off 54 balls and the man who replaced him at the crease, Shane Dowrich, applied himself beautifully. He fell 26 short of what might have been a maiden Test hundred when umpire Ian Gould adjudged him lbw to Amit Mishra not spotting an inside edge.

This was only the third time over the last 12 Tests that a Kingston crowd got to watch cricket on the fifth day. And while their numbers could have been better, their investment in the match couldn't be faulted too much. One fan implored Dowrich to "come again" - meaning restart - after he turned his nose up at the turn a Mishra legbreak got. The outside edge evaded a diving Ajinkya Rahane at slip. Another boomed "good shot, good shot" when Chase drove R Ashwin down the ground. Among the fans was Sheldon Cottrell, who had completed his CPL stint last week, with a little girl next to him. They were all watching history.

India bowled 88.1 overs. They conceded 340 runs and could get only two wickets. For the first time in nine days, their opposition was willing to give, well, opposition. Kohli began to chirp at Chase to see if he could be unruffled. Mishra fielded a ball that was pushed back at him and flung it back at the batsman in frustration. Things were getting out of hand. More accurately, West Indies were not giving anything away under the the kind of pressure where giving away an inch was as good as a mile. Chase and Dowrich raised the team's first hundred partnership of the series at the rate of 3.77 runs per over. Chase and Blackwood had added 93 runs at 5.26 an over. This was not backs-to-the-wall batting. This was special.

Those in the know say batsmen need to switch on and switch off. But it was difficult to say if Chase ever switched off. The smallest of smiles broke through when he secured his century; it was only his third in first-class cricket and this was only his 31st first-class match. He was batting like he had a 100 of each.

Chase defied India when they had secured a lead of 304 runs, and then taken four wickets in only 15.5 overs on a rain-hit fourth day. With 98.1 overs on the final day, they were supposed to get back-to-back Test victories in a series away from home. Something that has not happened since 2005, against Zimbabwe. Dilute the equation to the top-eight teams, and you end up at 1986, against England.

The bowlers did try. Mohammed Shami made the old and the new ball swing. Ishant Sharma kept squaring batsmen up. Ashwin couldn't have one of his days - 30-4-114-1. Umesh Yadav and Mishra were disappointing, a combined 37-8-134-2.

West Indies saw every ball that came down, inspected them carefully and then put them in their place. As good as the strokes themselves was the batsmen's belief they could measure up.
Blackwood showed it when he lifted Shami over his head for a six. When he leapt back, stood tall and hit Ashwin despite the extra bounce to the cover boundary. He became the first West Indian since Shivnarine Chanderpaul in 2014 to hit two half-centuries in the same match.

Dowrich showed it when he lofted Ashwin over the long-on fence. When he used Umesh Yadav's reverse swing to his advantage and flicked through midwicket and when he topped that by pulling the next ball to the boundary.

Holder showed it when he blunted a brutal short ball from Shami, dropping his wrists but keeping his eyes on it to make sure he could control where it fell. He got to his fifty with a six against Ashwin.
It was only the first time in West Indies' history that their Nos 5 through 8 had scored 50 or more in the same innings. That's so rare it has only happened five times in all of Test history.
The man who inspired it all walked away unbeaten after an entire day's play.

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India vs West Indies, 2nd Test - Day 4

Rain helps hapless WI survive another day

    Mohammed Shami used the heavy cloud cover and swing with the new ball to his advantage

Earl, the tropical storm threatening Kingston, allowed for only 15.5 overs on the fourth day. In that time, India helped themselves to four wickets, suggesting all they needed was a session or two more to wrap up a Test victory. The forecast is better for cricket tomorrow and West Indies are trailing by 256 runs in their second innings.

An early start - at 9.30 am - had been scuppered by overnight rain leaving the outfield rather wet. When the players finally got on the field at 10.45 am only three overs were possible before a couple of sharp showers forced them back into the dressing rooms. A good chunk of the session was played amid a mild drizzle, which at one point got strong enough to halt play for about a minute before it disappeared into thin air.

West Indies felt tentative batting in these conditions. Not least because the heavy cloud cover was helping the new ball swing nicely. Mohammed Shami used it to his advantage, pitching one on middle and seaming it away to hit the top of Marlon Samuels' off stump for a five-ball duck at his home ground. In his next over, with lunch only seconds away, Shami had Darren Bravo caught in the slips with a well-directed short ball.

Bravo lasted 37 balls, most of which were looking to maim his nose. He did not look to attack them. He struggled to defend them. He often took his eyes off them. Eventually he fell to one of them.
The weather was bad, which might have worried India but West Indies' abysmal batting sent them to lunch with beaming smiles. There was no more play thereafter.

Although not as wide as India's smiles, there were cracks on this pitch now, around the short-of-a-length area. Ishant Sharma is naturally a hit-the-deck bowler. When he did so at the start of his second over, it stayed low. Two balls later, however, it gained some extra bounce, hit Rajendra Chandrika's elbow as he was trying to leave the ball outside off and cannoned onto his stumps. Chandrika made 1; his Test average is currently 14 after 10 innings. No West Indian opener has been as bad.

Kraigg Brathwaite had looked a lot better against the short ball. He cut and pulled at the first opportunity against the fast bowlers. Could he bat as well against spin? Virat Kohli brought Amit Mishra on in the 13th over. Mishra bowled one unintentionally short. Brathwaite played an awful pull shot - his feet not going back and across to generate power - and was caught excellently by KL Rahul running back from midwicket.

Kohli ran up to his bowler, his mouth open, his eyes wide, laughing. Mishra hugged his captain, bemusement on his face. Rain that started one minute and left the next. Batsmen who didn't really know what to do. And bowlers who were taking wickets as easily as they snapped their fingers. It was all just a little silly for Test cricket.

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BCCI approves T20I series against West Indies in USA

   The two games will be played at the Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, 

   USA on August 27 and 28 respectively. © BCCI

In a path-breaking initiative, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday (August 2) approved the proposed two-match Twenty20 International series against the West Indies cricket team in Florida, United States of America later this month. The decision was taken during the board's Working Committee meeting held in Mumbai.

The two games will be played at the Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA on August 27 and 28 respectively.

"As part of our continuous efforts to reach out to new markets and audiences, I am very happy to announce that Team India will play two T20Is against the current world champions West Indies in the United States," Anurag Thakur, the BCCI president said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"This will be a great opportunity for the cricket fans in America to watch the two champion sides in action. This will be developed into an annual cricketing event in the United States," he added.

"This will be a great initiative in our continued efforts to develop cricket in the Americas (North and South America) a very important market," said Whycliffe Dave Cameron,West Indies Cricket Board President.

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES - 2ND TEST, DAY 3 RAIN RUINS THE PLAY

Rain ruins play after India declare with 304 lead

  A Test match can be a bit like a pup: great players can lead it wherever they want. This West Indian XI does not have great players. They have great triers. Captain Jason Holder and coach Phil Simmons put the men on defence - understandable considering the opposition had a fat lead. Their best efforts have taken the Test to a point where the weather can threaten what once looked a certain victory for India. A tropical storm has been forecast to hit the region on the fourth day with India declaring 304 runs ahead and West Indies yet to bat in the second innings.


 
 Ajinkya Rahane found himself part of a pattern, one that has been central to India's success on this tour of the Caribbean. They have batted eleven-and-a-half sessions in this series. And a set batsman had been out there most of the time. Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin began the trend in Antigua. It continued with KL Rahul on day two and Rahane on day three, who went on to score his seventh Test hundred. This is the eighth straight series that he has scored a score of at least 90 in.
India were not panicking about the weather. The mountains on the horizon were obscured by heavy cloud. The rain break came 10 overs after lunch and spirited 52 minutes out of the game. Offspinning allrounder Roston Chase took two wickets in two balls and had them eight down soon after play resumed. The run-scoring stayed sedate.

  Virat Kohli, sipping a hot beverage in the dressing room, was still in his training gear. He was clearly not thinking about the declaration. Perhaps Rahane approaching a Test century away from home had something to do with that. And with only Nos. 10 and 11 for company, he began to farm the strike. This was where West Indies' discipline paid off. They had given away only 142 runs in 46.1 overs. They made India bat long for a lead they liked.

  Rahane squirted an outside edge between slip and the wicketkeeper in the 170th over to reach his third hundred in four innings, captured on camera by the coach Anil Kumble and celebrated vigorously by his team-mates. The locals at Sabina Park had something to cheer too when Chase induced a top edge from Umesh Yadav to wrap up his first five-for in his second Test. With a high-arm action resembling Nathan Lyon, he got the ball to dip and bounce. Earlier, Amit Mishra failed to get to the pitch of one and was caught at short leg. Seconds later Mohammed Shami was bowled playing down the wrong line. Chase wore a sheepish grin on day two when he conceded he hadn't liked going without a wicket on debut. Now he was leading his team off.

While it will be debated if India needed to bat on after the first rain break, or if they batted on to let Rahane reach his hundred - he was 83 when the rain came down - the fact remains that India had now batted West Indies out of the match. It remained to be seen if India would give enough time to register their first set of consecutive wins outside Asia since 2006, but they were assured they were not going to lose this one.

 

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India vs West Indies - 2nd Test, Day 3

 India Break Previous Records in Kingston

Statistical highlights of the third day’s play in the second cricket Test between India and West Indies, in Kingston.

# For the first time, India have taken a first innings lead of 300-plus (304) while batting second in a Test match vs West Indies in the Caribbean – the third instance of a lead of over 200 vs West Indies overall while batting second – the two at home being 313 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai and 219 at Eden Gardens, Kolkatya – both in November 2013.

# For the second time, India have registered a lead of 300 or more in successive Tests. In the North Sound Test last week, they had gained a lead of 323.

# The first such instance was against Sri Lanka at home in 2009 when they had registered leads of 413 at Kanpur and 333 at Mumbai (Brabourne Stadium).


# India’s biggest first innings lead over West Indies in West Indies is by 373 runs at Gros Islet in 2006.

# India (500/9d) have recorded a total of 500 for the first time in a Test match at Kingston. In all, they have registered five totals of 500-plus vs West Indies in the Caribbean.

# India have registered two totals of 500 or more in a Test series twice vs West Indies in the Caribbean – 566 for eight wickets declared at North Sound and 500 for nine wickets declared at Kingston. The first instance being in 2016 – 588 for eight declared at Gros Islet and 521 for six declared at St.John’s.

# Overall, India have registered totals of 500 or more in successive innings in Tests three times away from home.

# India’s above total is the sixth highest by a visiting team in Tests at Kingston – the highest being England’s 849 in April 1930.

# India have registered two totals of 500 or more in a rubber eight times in an away series- the last instance being 532 at Sydney and 526 at Adelaide – vs Australia in 2007-08

# Ajinkya Rahane (108 not out) has recorded the second highest score by India’s number five batsman vs West Indies at Kingston behind the 117 by Polly Umrigar in March 1953.

# Polly Umrigar had scored 130, while batting at number five, at Port of Spain in January 1953 and Rahul Dravid – 144 not out at Georgetown in April 2002.

# Rahane is one of the five Indian batsmen at number five to post three hundreds outside the subcontinent – the first four being Polly Umrigar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

# Rahane’s fifth century away from home is his seventh in Tests. He has registered a hundred each in five overseas countries – West Indies, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England.

# Rahane’s two centuries at home were against South Africa in the Delhi Test in December 2015 – 127 and 100 not out.

# Rahane is averaging 49.16 in away Tests – his tally being 1475 in 19 Tests.

# Since December 2013 vs South Africa, Rahane has posted an innings of 90-plus in eight consecutive Test series to become the only Indian player to accomplish the feat in each of his last eight Test series.

# Wriddhiman Saha (47) has posted his highest score vs West Indies in Tests, eclipsing the 40 at North Sound in the first Test of the series. His only two fifties have been recorded by him away from home – 60 at Galle and 56 at Colombo (PSS) – both vs Sri Lanka in August 2015.

# Rahane and Saha put on 98 – the second highest sixth-wicket partnership for India vs West Indies at Kingston behind the 137 between Dilip Sardesai and Eknath Solkar in February 1971.

# Rostan Chase (5/121) has produced his first five-wicket haul in Tests.

# Rostan Chase is the first West Indian spinner since David Holford’s 5 for 23 at Bridgetown in March 1976 to produce a five-wicket haul vs India in home Tests.

# For the third time in Tests in the Caribbean, spinners from both teams claimed five wickets or more in an innings – India vs West Indies at Kingston in 1952-53, Bangladesh vs West Indies at Kingstown 2014 and India vs West Indies at Kingston in 2016.

# For India, the first seven partnerships have produced 70.28 – their best average partnership in a Test series (1-7) away from home (minimum 10 partnerships of 50-plus).

 

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES - 2ND TEST, DAY 2

India vs West Indies: KL Rahul's career-best score gives visitors healthy lead in 2nd Test

Opener KL Rahul showed a lot of composure, hitting a career-best 158 as India reached a comfortable 358 for 5 on the second day, thereby taking complete control of the second Test against 

West Indies at the Sabina Park in Kingston on Sunday.

At stumps, India had consolidated their lead to a sizeable 162 runs despite only 232 runs being scored in the 88 overs bowled in the day as the visitors looked to grind the home team with an aim of out-batting them.

Ajinkya Rahane looked confident during his unbeaten knock of 42 in company of Wriddhiman Saha (17 not out).

KL RAHUL CELEBRATES AFTER REACHING HIS CENTURY ON DAY 2 OF 2ND TEST

 

Rahul certainly was the hero of the day as he scored his third Test century on foreign soil with the help of 15 boundaries and three huge sixes -- the first of which enabled him to complete the coveted ton. It was a compact innings in which he played 303 balls.

He had a partnership of 121 runs for the second wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a dogged 46 off 159 balls with four boundaries. Rahul also had a 69-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 44 off 90 balls. Kohli's innings had four boundaries and a six.

By the time, Rahul was adjudged caught behind down leg-side off Shanon Gabriel (1/50), he had put
 India in driver's seat.

Kohli, who has been in sublime form was dismissed just when he was looking to take on the spinners, having hit a six and couple of fours off Devendra Bishoo's (1/79) bowling.

It was spinner Roston Chase (2/91), who bowled an off-break which Kohli tried to guide towards the leg side, only to offer a simple catch to Rajendra Chandrika at forward short-leg.

Ravichandran Ashwin (3) was adjudged leg-before off a Bishoo delivery that hit the toe.
Rahane and Saha negotiated the remaining 12.5 overs adding 31 runs with minimum fuss. Earlier, Rahul brought up his third overseas Test century and helped India lead by 63 runs at tea.

Along with Pujara, he looked to make good on the hard work done in the morning session. The West Indies were looking listless as ever and this was a good time to get some quick runs under the belt.
The only difference from the Antigua Test was perhaps that West Indies weren't allowing easy scoring, and had tightened up.

The 200-mark for India came up in the 70th over, and the duo celebrated their 100-stand for the 2nd wicket off 283 balls.

Even as the batsmen looked for runs, they had to take some risks, and in doing so Pujara was run-out after a direct throw by Chase from square-leg found him short of the crease at the non-striker's end.
It was a long stay at the crease, which didn’t even result in a half-century, an obvious source of disappointment as the batsman trudged off slowly.

Rahul suffered cramps thereafter, but kept going as Kohli joined him. The West Indies' decision to delay the new ball helped him settle down, and he was beaten only once in the first 20 deliveries that he had faced.

Kraigg Brathwaite (0-26) was put to bowl, much to everyone's surprise, and soon the runs began flowing again as India went past the 250-mark in the 90th over, as the two batsmen put up 50 runs for the 3rd wicket off 106 balls. Just before tea, Rahul went past the 150-mark for the first time in his Test career.

In the morning, Rahul and Pujara had played out a slow morning session, as India were trailing the hosts by just 11 runs at lunch. Starting at the overnight score of 126/1, the two batsmen looked to play for time, as there was still something in the pitch for the bowlers.
However the hosts didn't have any help from the weather, as it was bright and sunny when play began, rendering this a good day to bat.

Even so, the West Indies' pacers didn't make things easy for the Indian batsmen. Gabriel bowled an extended spell, as did Cummins and the two bowled a nagging line to trouble the duo at the crease.
Gabriel, in particular, tested both Rahul and Pujara, thrice inducing edges as they fell short of the waiting cordon. On three other occasions, he beat the batsmen with his pace and bounce.

Cummins too beat the batsmen with his line and length, getting a couple to rise awkwardly, but the edges didn’t come or didn't carry to the fielders as the batsmen looked to play with soft hands.
It obviously affected the run-rate, as only 22 runs came in the first hour of play, with Pujara taking 35 deliveries to get off his overnight score of 18 not out. The 150-mark came up in the 52nd over and the duo brought up their 50-partnership off 141 deliveries.

Soon enough, after being patient through the morning, Rahul hit out in the 56th over and deposited Chase for a six over long-on, and brought up his hundred off 182 balls. His previous two hundreds were scored in 2015, coming against Australia (Sydney) and Sri Lanka (Colombo).
In doing so, he notched up the highest score for an Indian opener playing his very first innings in the West Indies, beating Ajay Jadeja's 97 (1996), Shikhar Dhawan’s 84 (2016) and Sunil Gavaskar’s 65 (1971).

At the other end, Pujara struck two boundaries to break the shackles and finally got his strike-rate going, as India went into the lunch break in consummate control of this match. Jason Holder (0-49) was the other bowler tried.

 

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SQUADS FOR INDIA'S TOUR OF WEST INDIES, 2016

SQUADS FOR INDIA TOUR OF WEST INDIES, 2016    

                                                    INDIA

Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravchandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur

              

                                             WEST INDIES

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