WI vs IND: Mohammed Siraj takes one-handed stunner to dismiss Jermaine Blackwood, leaves teammates in awe

Day 1 of the opening Test between West Indies and India completely belonged to the visitors as the Rohit Sharma-led side looked phenomenal in all three sectors of the game. When it comes to bowling, Ravichandran Ashwin once again weaved his magic, picking up his 33rd five-for while Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets to restrict the Kriagg Brathwaite-led side to 150 runs only. 

Notably, India’s fielding was massively criticised in recent times but against West Indies, they looked brilliant. Several good catches were taken but the highlight was when Mohammed Siraj grabbed a stunning catch to get the better of Jermaine Blackwood. In a fuller delivery outside off by Jadeja, the batter looked to go over the bowler’s head but Siraj was quick enough to cover the distance to his right, jumped high in the air with his arms stretched to pick up a phenomenal one-handed catch. With that, Blackwood's 14-run innings came to an end as West Indies looked in deep trouble.

Debutant Jaiswal looked impressive with bat

After restricting the home team to mere 150 runs, India’s new opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal looked rock solid at the crease as West Indies bowlers struggled to get going. After having a tremendous season in the domestic arena and also in the recently concluded Indian Premier League, Jaiswal was handed the opportunity to make his international debut and he has looked sensational so far.

After a slow start, the UP-born cricketer picked up his pace, hitting 40* runs off 73 deliveries. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, took time to settle in as the 36-year-old hit 30* runs off 65 deliveries. Notably, courtesy of their brilliant batting, India are just 70 runs behind the hosts and thus, will be aiming to take a massive lead and put West Indies under pressure in their first innings.

On the other hand, another debutant Ishan Kishan too looked impressive on Day 1. His keeping skills definitely have room for improvement in the longest format of the game, but overall, he looked solid behind the stumps. However, it’s his batting that will play a crucial part in shaping his Test future.