INDIA VS WEST INDIES, 4TH TEST, PORT OF SPAIN - DAY 3

India vs West Indies, 4th Test, Day 3 at Port of Spain

Play called off: 

A wet outfield, followed by heavy showers, meant that the umpires were forced to call off the play for the day. A second day in succession being abandoned without a single ball being bowled has dealt a big blow to India's prospects of retaining the No. 1 ranking. With the outfield taking a long time to dry, and the unavailability of a super-sopper, puts the fourth day's play too under doubt.

 Heavens open up: 

As expected, the dark clouds that were hovering above the ground, brought with them a heavy spell of rain, forcing more covers to be brought on. Even the area that was dug up to hasten the drying process, had to be covered. This should be the end of the day's play, official confirmation awaited. Considering the abysmal drainage at the ground and the limited resources available for the groundsmen, it could well be the end of the Test.

Update: 

Just when the umpires were getting ready for the inspection, dark clouds forced the groundsmen to bring the covers on. With a portion of the outfield already dug up, the Test maybe as good as over if the intensity of the rain increases.

Build-up: 

The first session on day one saw 22 overs being played, following which there has been no action at all in the fourth Test at Port of Spain, apart from groundsmen being kept busy and the umpires doing some inspections from time to time. While rain played spoilsport on day one, washing out the second and third sessions, no play was possible at all on day two, despite no rain. A wet outfield forced the day's play to be called off and inadequate drying facilities at the ground added to the woes.

While day three was again expected to begin early, the outfield is still soggy, leading to a further delay. "Folks here have some questions to answer. Not having a Super Sopper is unacceptable," said Viv Richards, disappointed with the facilities at the ground. A pitch fork was used to check how much the outfield has dried, but the signs weren't promising as the fork sank in with ease, indicating the wetness underneath. After several inspections on day two which did not provide any positive news, another inspection has been scheduled for today, at 11:00 AM local time. Will there be a different script today?

Unfortunately for the Indian team, which needs a victory to remain No. 1 in the Test rankings, there aren't any promising news. Thunderstorms have been forecast for later today, and in case the intensity of the showers happen to be as much as it was on day one, this Test is as good as over. But for now, fingers crossed.

 © Cricket Fever

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES, 4TH TEST, PORT OF SPAIN - DAY 2

Outfield consumes two sessions, rain the last

     West Indies 62 for 2 (Brathwaite 32*) v India

Port of Rain: There was little rain but the wet outfield accounted for the whole second day's play

From the moment Port of Spain woke up to 2.15pm, when any hope of a resumption of play evaporated, no rain fell at Queen's Park Oval. Yet not a single ball was bowled despite the sun beating down on the ground till 2pm.

The umpires came out for inspection after inspection after inspection, but didn't find the outfield to be fit for play. There was no super sopper to assist the ground staff nor was the whole ground covered when it rained. The eventual downpour at 2.15pm, 15 minutes before yet another inspection, accounted for any remaining hopes.

With only 22 overs possible on the first two days, with forecast not great for the rest of the Test and given the facilities available at Queen's Park Oval, only an unbelievable three days could produce a result. India needed to win this Test to retain their No. 1 Test ranking and not lose it to Pakistan. West Indies were 62 for 2 after 22 overs, all bowled in the first session on the first morning.

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES - 4TH TEST, PORT OF SPAIN - DAY1

West Indies lose two before rain washes out 68 overs

     West Indies 62 for 2 (Brathwaite 32*) v India

Ishant Sharma struck with the first ball he bowled

India's hopes of retaining the No. 1 Test ranking going into the home season suffered a setback as only 22 overs were possible on the first day in wet Port of Spain. Forecast for the second day wasn't great either, and the facilities at the ground came under scrutiny too. The first day's play began half an hour late despite no rain since the evening before the Test, and it was called off as early as 2pm. There is no super sopper at Queen's Park Oval.

Any team will be a tad disappointed with losing two wickets in the first session after choosing to bat on a slow track, but such has been the state of the West Indies batting that they might take this, with the rain being the bonus. Only once in the series have they lost their third wicket after reaching three figures. Kraigg Brathwaite, who has shown the willingness to buckle down, did that job, but he will be disappointed they lost two wickets especially after he and Leon Johnson had seen off the first spells of the opening bowlers.

West Indies will be all the more disappointed because the pitch was really slow after having spent a lot of time under covers because of rain leading up to the Test. It had left the outfield wet enough to delay the start of the Test by half an hour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had cracked open the last Test for India, wasted little time, though, in creating opportunities. In his first four overs, he hit the outside edge of Brathwaite's bat four times: twice the ball fell short, once it travelled in the gap in the slip cordon, and once Virat Kohli dropped it at second slip, seeming to suggest he expected third slip KL Rahul to go for it.

That wasn't the first disfavour he had done his bowlers: he had decided to play just the four bowlers so that both Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma could be included. Also he dropped Shikhar Dhawan for M Vijay after an uncertain batting line-up had been reduced to 126 for 5 in the previous Test.

After seeing off Bhuvneshwar and Mohammed Shami for a partnership of 31 runs, Johnson fell to the first ball bowled by Ishant Sharma. This was his second straight dismissal to short leg, and again straight off the bat. Ishant got it just high enough into the ribs, but Johnson could have left it alone.
The second wicket didn't take so much co-operation from the batsman. After Darren Bravo had picked R Ashwin for a two and a four at his home ground, the next ball was just a bit shorter, creating the distance between the pitch of the ball and the bat. Then it had enough time to turn from middle and leg and past the outside edge to hit the top of off stump. That in the first session of a Test is excellent for a spinner.

Brathwaite, though, remained solid and in partnership with Marlon Samuels took West Indies to within 15 minutes of lunch when rain brought them early relief. As it turned out steady rain for the next hour or so was all it took for the day's play to be called off.

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES 4TH TEST REVIEW

Record-setting India aim for 3-0 series win

Rain is expected to play spoilsport during the course of the final Test

   

World No 1 - that's where the Indian Test team stands at the moment. It's a small incentive, as Virat Kohli rightly termed it, but the team is looking at continuing its winning form for much longer, in order to carve out an era.

India are 2-0 up with one game to play in the Test series against hosts West Indies, already a record scoreline for any Indian side visiting the Caribbean, and they will look to wrap up the series 3-0 when the two teams meet on Thursday at Queens Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The pitch at the Queens Park Oval looks like one that will play to the spinners' benefit and that will put India at more of an advantage. Ravichandran Ashwin has already scored two hundreds and picked up a truckload of wickets on the tour, and he will be looking at another strong performance to cap off a successful series.

India's batsmen have been in good form, too, with Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha and Ashwin all getting hundreds. The curator at Port of Spain reckons the pitch will be a good one for batsmen, even though there will be spin and bounce on offer. India's batsmen will be keen on putting up another big performance with the bat.

For the West Indies, the only way is up. They showed some fight during the second innings at Jamaica and the first at St Lucia. However, they slumped to a new low during their second innings in the third Test, losing wickets in a heap and succumbing to another big defeat. They will hope for a good performance from at least one of their top four batsmen, who have all been, expect Kraigg Brathwaite to some extent, in bad form. The middle-order failure in the last game exposed how dependent the team is on them, and they can ill afford another bad show with the bat, against an Indian team hungry for success.

 When: West Indies vs India, 4th Test on August 18 at 10:00 AM local time (7.30 PM IST)

Where: Sabina Park, Port-of-Spain Trinidad

What to expect: Rain is expected to play spoilsport during the course of the Test, and the pitch could play a tad differently. Kohli opined that the rain, and with the pitch kept under covers, could help the faster bowlers, while the curator felt that the pitch will be a good one for batsmen and spinners.

 Team News:

India: India sprung more than a couple of surprises during their last game in St Lucia, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them do so again in Port of Spain. Murali Vijay could come in for the out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan, while there might be a case for an extra seamer for Ravindra Jadeja, judging by Kohli's reading of the wicket.
Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shardul Thakur have also been named in the sides to play in the Duleep Trophy. All three were left out of the starting XI in the last Test, and it will be interesting to see if the players are released to play in the pink-ball tournament if they are not picked for the fourth Test.
West Indies: The only change West Indies could make would be bringing in specialist spinner Devendra Bishoo for one of their pacers. Alzarri Joseph had a good debut, while Miguel Cummins sparkled with a six-fer in the second innings in St Lucia. It will be interesting to see which pacer gets the drop, should the team management go with Bishoo.

What they said:

Virat Kohli: If you're playing five batters and looking to bat someone at number five then the batting order that we played in the last game works. When we play six batters and four bowlers in home conditions maybe where you won't require that extra fifth bowler who might not bowl too many overs, then the combination becomes different. We are open to both

Jason Holder: Personally, I would like to get some better starts. Part of my job is to do the holding bit at one end, as the hard working boys tend to rest. I felt that I was always doing well in the series but just haven't got the wickets to show.

Squads:

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

West Indies: Jason Holder, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Carlos Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels

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INDIA BECOMES NO.1 IN ICC TEST RANKINGS

Australia concede No. 1 Test ranking to India

Sri Lanka's 3-0 win over Australia in the home series helped India climb to the top spot in latest ICC Test rankings.

The Indian cricket team climbed to No. 1 spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings after Sri Lanka blanked Australia 3-0 in the home series on Wednesday (August 17).

Sri Lanka whitewashed the three-match Test series against the No. 1 ranked Australian side with a 163-run victory on the fifth and final day of the third Test. Consequently, the visitors lost 10 rating points and slipped to the third spot in the table with 108, four points behind India's 112.

To retain the No.1 rank, though, India will now have to win the final Test of their ongoing four-match Test series in West Indies, which begins in Port of Spain on Thursday (August 18). Their failure to win the fourth Test will propel Pakistan to the top spot for the first time.

If India win, they will finish on 112 points - one ahead of Pakistan - but slip to 110 points if the Test is drawn. In case the West Indies earn a consolation win, India will slip to fourth place with 108 rating points.

Pakistan, who won the fourth and final Test against hosts England at The Oval last week to level the series 2-2, jumped to the second spot with 111 ranking points.

England are placed fourth in the table with 108 rating points while Sri Lanka gained ten points to pip South Africa and climb to the sixth spot.

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India vs West Indies: In a first, India win two Tests in the Caribbean

Stats: Virat Kohli becomes first India captain to win two Tests in West Indies

India haven't lost a Test for nine matches in succession with Virat Kohli as captain

India defeated a hapless West Indies side by 237 runs in the third Test in Gros Islet despite losing one entire day's play to rain. India were clinical during the final day's play, dismissing West Indies for 108 in just 47.3 overs after setting them a target of 346 runs. This was Jason Holder's sixth loss in eight Tests as captain and West Indies' eighth in the last ten. Darren Bravo's 59 was the only positive for West Indies on Day 5 while Mohammed Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers with three scalps as the visitors took an unassailable 2-0 lead.
 

Stats wrap of the final day's play in Gros Islet:
 

4 Series wins for India in West Indies. They won only one series in their first eight tours to the country - a 1-0 win in 1971 under Ajit Wadekar. However, they have now won three series in a row - 2006, 2011 and 2016.
 

India's series wins in West Indies

MARGIN   Tests      Year           Captain               WINS AT VENUE(s)  1-0                5             1971  Ajit Wadekar  Port of Spain  1-0 4         2006  Rahul Dravid  Kingston  1-0 3         2011        MS Dhoni                   Kingston  2-0 4         2016  Virat Kohli                 North Sound; Gros Islet

0 Previous instances of India winning two Tests in series in the Caribbean. They won one Test each in 1971, 1976, 2002, 2006 and 2011, all under different captains. Virat Kohli became the first Indian skipper to lead India to two wins in the West Indies.
 

1 Instance of India winning two Tests and losing none in a series away from home (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). That instance came in 1986 in England.
 

9 Consecutive Test matches for Virat Kohli as captain without a loss - sixth-best streak for an Indian captain. His last defeat came against Sri Lanka in Galle in August 2015. The ones with longer runs are Sunil Gavaskar (18), Kapil Dev (17), Mohammad Azharuddin (14), MS Dhoni (11) and Sachin Tendulkar (10).
 

3 Wins for India away from home with a higher margin than the 237 runs in this match. They won by 279 runs in Leeds in 1986, 278 runs in Colombo (PSS) in 2015 and 272 runs in Auckland in 1968.
 

5 for 33 by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is the third-best figures for an Indian pacer in West Indies, after Ishant Sharma's 6 for 55 in 2011 and Kapil Dev's 6 for 84 in 1989.
 

4.52 India's run-rate in their second innings - the third best for them in the third innings of an away Test, after 4.86 against Australia and 4.74 against Bangladesh.
 

6 for 48 by Miguel Cummins is the fourth-best figures for a West Indies pacer against India in Tests, after 7 for 64 by Andy Roberts, 6 for 37 by Malcolm Marshall and 6 for 39 by Vanburn Holder. The last West Indian to take a six-fer against India was Franklyn Rose, who took 6 for 100 in Kingston in 1996.
 

9 wickets taken by Cummins off his last 76 balls. He went wicket-less for the first 280 balls in his career.
 

4 runs scored for the opening wicket stand by Kraigg Brathwaite and Leon Johnson in West Indies' second innings. The three first-wicket partnerships between the two before this read 143, 76 and 59.
 

3 Wickets taken in this Test by R Ashwin - the fewest he has taken against West Indies in a Test. However, his economy rate of 2.10 in the best for him against them in a Test.
 

8 Test matches taken by Ashwin to take 50 wickets against West Indies, the fewest for an Indian bowler against them, surpassing 10 Tests by Harbhajan Singh. Ashwin is also the joint second-fastest Indian bowler to take 50 scalps against an opposition, along with EAS Prasanna and Anil Kumble, who also took eight Tests each to reach 50 wickets, against New Zealand and Pakistan respectively. Harbhajan has taken the least Tests to 50 against an opposition - seven against Australia.
 

2 Bowlers with more wickets than Ashwin at the end of the first 35 Tests of their career. Waqar Younis (194) and Clarrie Grimmett (193) are the only ones with more scalps than Ashwin's 192.
 

3 Alzzari Joseph became the third West Indian to be dismissed for a pair on Test debut. Alf Valentine and Rajendra Chandrika faced this ignominy earlier.
 

108 is the second-lowest total for West Indies in Tests against India. The only lower score came in the series decider in Kingston in 2006, when they were dismissed for 103 in the first innings.
 

Lowest scores for West Indies against India

SCORE    OVERS    INNINGS    RESULT       GROUND                 START DATE     103          33.3             2               LOST             KINGSTON             30-JUN 06   108          47.3             4               LOST             GROS ISLET           9-AUG 16   127          47.1             2              WON               DELHI                   25-NOV 87   134          57.2             3              DRAW             MUMBAI               22-NOV 11   140          45.0             3              WON               BRIDGEOWN    27-MARCH 97
1 This is West Indies' first loss in a Test in Gros Islet. They had won one and drew three of their first four Tests here.6 Man-of-the-match awards for Ashwin in Tests. It is the most for an Indian player since the all-rounder's debut, ahead of the next-placed Cheteshwar Pujara (3).

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INDIA VS WEST INDIES, 3RD TEST- DAY5, Quicks seal India's incredible series win

Quicks seal India's incredible series win

India 353 (Ashwin 118, Saha 104, Cummins 3-54) and 217 for 7 decl. (Rahane 78*, Cummins 6-48) beat West Indies 225 (Brathwaite 64, Bhuvneshwar 5-33) and 108 (Bravo 59, Shami 3-15) by 237 runs 

On Thursday, the third day of the St Lucia Test, India saw rain wash a whole day's play out, with runs having been scored at about 2.5 an over on the first two days. The bowlers' last memory of having taken a wicket was 79.2 overs ago. By the end of the play on Saturday, the fifth day, India had taken 17 wickets in 63.5 overs to complete an incredible Test and series win, one that was borne as much out of belief and intent as out of West Indies' lack of resistance after what hopefully wasn't a false dawn in Jamaica.

India began the final day believing they could still win; West Indies did nothing to make India doubt it. After Bhuvneshwar Kumar's swing masterclass left India 285 in lead at the end of the fourth day, India quickly ran away to 60 runs in nine overs to leave West Indies with no chance of winning and 87 overs to survive.

That was a big difference between Jamaica and St Lucia: there, one counterattack put the hosts within sight of parity and gave them direction. Here they didn't know where to go. Feet stopped moving, brains got muddled, plans went absent, and India stayed relentless. The victory, the first time India won two Tests in a series outside Asia since 2005 and the first time ever in the West Indies, arrived before tea.

The gulf in the class and awareness between the teams was glaring on the fifth day. It began with awareness and intent. India knew the outfield was slow, they knew they were short on time, so they came out running runs as if in street cricket. Tip and run, runs to slip, second runs with the ball in the fielder's hand, thirds because of panicked throws and poor backing-up, India almost literally stole these runs from under West Indies' noses. A six-wicket haul for Miguel Cummins as the batsmen went after the bowling was the only silver lining on a dark day for West Indies cricket. Ajinkya Rahane, not surprisingly, top-scored with an unbeaten 78.

Then came the question of class. West Indies still had only 87 overs to survive on a pretty reliable surface. Except that the batting was not reliable. Coming into this innings having lost their last seven first-innings wickets in 16.2 overs, West Indies needed a solid start. It wasn't to be. On a new-ball pitch, the India quicks were soon going to be all over them. This was going to call for gumption, especially if West Indies lost a wicket early on. Which they duly did, with new opener Leon Johnson fending Mohammed Shami to short leg.

Bhuvneshwar, who had cracked the game open with a quick five-for on day four, then had Kraigg Brathwaite - not the only West Indies batsman who prefers to stay back - with a really full delivery. The inswinger held its line a little, Brathwaite played across its line and was caught dead plumb. With openers gone in the fifth over, there was extra responsibility on the most experienced West Indies batsmen, Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo. Samuels couldn't have played a more irresponsible innings.

Samuels went from fasting to sugar rush, betraying no sense of plan or direction to his batting. He faced the first 12 balls of his innings responsibly, avoiding the short-pitch barrage nicely. With no run to his name, and no intent to score any until then, out of nowhere he looked for a lofted off drive to the 13th ball he faced. Having survived that rush of blood, having scored his first run off the 21st ball he faced, Samuels got two half-volleys from R Ashwin, boundaries off which should have settled down nerves.

Samuels, though, went on a hitting spree. He was lucky he mistimed his next big shot, an attempted loft with a long-on in place. This one fell short, but Samuels, having been dormant for the first half of the innings, struggled to calm himself down. The feet didn't move, the bat went high, an inswinger from Ishant Sharma burst through the gate and sent the off stump on a cartwheel.

Three wickets had been lost in 13.2 overs, but Roston Chase and Bravo batted more sensibly and saw West Indies through to lunch. Post lunch, Ishant produced the delivery of the innings to remove the centurion from Jamaica, Chase. India had got their act together for Chase, bowling fuller than they did in Jamaica, giving him less time to recover should there be any misbehaviour off the pitch. This one misbehaved massively, seaming back in from a full length to take the off stump out.

Jermaine Blackwood's attacking ways were less likely to work here; India had anyway cut off his runs by not bowling in his zone. A frustrated big drive - trying to save a Test with parity nowhere in sight - brought an on-the-line stumping, and half the side was gone even before the ball became old and settled down.

After about the 30th over, the pitch settled down a little. The edges began to die, as R Ashwin found out with Bravo who reached his first fifty in eight innings. The seam movement ceased. A main batsman would have found this period easier to negotiate, but Shane Dowrich fell to a disciplined spell from Shami, who followed on from a seven-over interrogation by Bhuvneshwar. Jason Holder ran himself out, and with the tail in the middle it was just a consolation that West Indies managed to cross 100 and didn't succumb to their lowest total against India.

 

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