West Indies v India 3rd Test, Day 1 – 5 Memorable Moments

India is leading the 4-match Test series 1-0 and is looking forward in sealing the series with a win here. West Indies skipper Jason Holder surprised a few by opting to bowl first, after winning the toss. Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that he would have batted if he had won the toss anyway.

India left out Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra, and Umesh Yadav they were replaced by Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At stumps, team India was lingering at 234/5, with Ravichandran Ashwin on 75 and Wriddhiman Saha on 46 at the crease.

1. Started off with 2 full-toses:

After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, the hosts started off well by taking wickets when the pitch was fresh and then choking the Indian top-order out with disciplined bowling.

However, it was not the way the match started as Shannon Gabriel bowled two full-toses as the first two deliveries of the match with KL Rahul at the crease. However, the bowler was lucky enough that it costs him just 4 runs, courtesy the slow outfield.

Also read – West Indies v India 3rd Test, Day 1 – Statistical Highlights

2. Peppered India with short-pitch stuff:

West Indies came into the match with a much better bowling plan than the first two games. They used the moisture in the wicket to extract spongy bounce and pitched the short. The pacers also found some seam movement when they pitched it up.

Almost all of the India batsmen were troubled with the short deliveries on Day 1 and it all started off as Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan fell to a short ball while tickling Shannon Gabriel down the leg side in the 3rd over of the match.

3. KL Rahul’s first Test fifty:

Lokesh Rahul continued his great run as he started off aggressively. Despite missing five of the first 11 balls he faced, he punished every error in length. He pounced on anything overpitched or short and with width. Rahul also didn’t hesitate in taking the aerial route.

Having done the hard work and just after reaching his half-century, Rahul fell 18 minutes before Lunch, trying to whip a shortish delivery from Roston Chase straight to the man who had just moved to the short fine leg.

How did Twitter react? – Twitter Reactions: West Indies Bowlers rip apart India’s top order before Ashwin saves the day

4. Alzarri Joseph impresses on debut:

Alzarri Joseph, who only has an experience of 9 first-class matches impressed from the on-set with his pace and bowling mechanics. He started off his Test career with the wicket of one of the greatest batsmen of the current generation, Virat Kohli.

The Indian skipper was bounced out, as he was not in control of the delivery which jumped up at him. The edge flew to Darren Bravo at first slip to give the hosts their second wicket. Joel Garner, who presented Joseph his Test cap, would have been proud of that delivery.

Also read – Bowlers who dismissed Virat Kohli as their first wicket in Internationals

5. Ashwin dropped on 26 and caught off a no-ball on 35:

Ravichandran Ashwin came to the crease with India hovering at 87 for 4. Despite having scored 3 centuries against the same opposition, Ashwin found it hard out there as the Windies 4-man pace bowling attack fired on all cylinders.

He inside-edged Chase and was lucky as Leon Johnson missed him at short leg when he was on 26. Gabriel got him caught at the point but unfortunately for Windies, it turned out as he had cut the return crease with his back foot. With the push of luck Ashwin is at the crease batting on 75 and will be looking forward to his 4th Test century on Day 2.