West Indies v India - A drawn Test and frustration mounts!

From what looked like an obvious victory for India considering the humongous lead of 302 runs over the West Indian’s and the fact that West Indies with its performance in the first Test looked most improbable to surpass the lead, India were in for a surprise as they would have rightly expected to bundle out their opponents before lunch at the maximum and then perhaps head off to the beach.

While seasoned campaigners like Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo departed soon, the task was led by a bunch of rookies namely Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, Roston Chase and Jason Holder. I had the pleasure of watching the last 2 days of this highly improbable Test match in Hindi commentary and my earlier experience dictated that I was in for a laugh riot! Consider this, a fellow commentator asked Kapil Dev, “kya lagta hain, difficult hoga ye total chase karna?” Kapil Dev replies, “difficult ka to pata nahi lekin mushkil zaroor hoga.”  In my limited tryst with Hindi commentary, such instances are numerous.

So after the 4th day’s play was more so ruined to the West Indies’ favour by intermittent “boonda baandi” and the Indians though picking up 4 wickets would have left the field in a dejected state of sorts for the moist conditions further enhancing the swinging capability of the bowler may have allowed India to wrap up the match then and there. Fortunes turned on the 5th day as

Fortunes turned on the 5th day as the stationary rain gods parted and bright sunshine ensured that the bowlers receive minimal help from the wicket. There was a steady wind blowing here which seemed determined to take Amit Mishra’s hair along with it.  What promised to be a feast of sorts for India turned into something different courtesy the West Indian rookies as they attacked the bowlers from the start, what initially seemed like careless batting turned out to be a calculated approach with a nicely mingled mixture of defence and attack.

Also read – West Indies v India, 2nd Test – India Player Ratings

Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma tried numerous things, their bouncers were pulled away, Ishant’s prevailing length on the off side didn’t fetch much, it seemed like a plan for he was constantly bowling in the same area outside the off-stump and seemed content with the batsmen leaving the ball, perhaps he was searching for that minute crack on the wicket, the elusive reverse swing which isn’t his strongest suit, eventually it never came.

Shami looked determined, the most likely among the fast bowlers to pick up a wicket, he seemed to get a natural reverse swing off the wicket, a few lbw appeals were turned down, each of them demonstrating the desperation lurking among the fielders. In the long run, though, he achieved the same fate as his compatriots, the batsmen got used to him, decent deliveries were confidently blocked and loose ones were thrashed with an assertion of authority which stemmed from the rookie’s desire to match up to the Indians who until a few days back were running away with the game.

Blackwood and Chase particularly resorted to some lofty cover drives which were proof of their elegance, a six smashed by Blackwood off the bowling of Shami, lofting him over his head was met with cries of “good shot!” as the sparse attendance of the West Indian fans got into the act. Their frantic cries of “come again” meaning restart after Dowrich faced a scare off the bowling of Amit Mishra reminded me of the instructions received by club footballers from their nervous managers standing at the sidelines.

Spin didn’t yield much though the promise was abundant early on, Ravi Ashwin was accurate as usual, he created several chances out of a lacklustre wicket, Mishra had his remote moments of glory, most notably when he found the edge of Dowrich’s bat and the ball evaded a diving Ajinkya Rahane at slip, his solitary wicket for the day came in a rather shabby fashion as Ian Gould failed to notice a heavy inside edge and adjudged Dowrich lbw. It could have been a moment where things could have picked up for team India, a new batsman is vulnerable to succumb in a high-pressure situation and yet Jason Holder demonstrated his effectiveness as a lower order batsman.

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He refused to be unsettled and complemented Chase who was on the brink of a match-defining century which will surely be hailed for years to come. Holder though in his complementation role refused to play second fiddle, his stroke making was confident and he took the aerial route several times. A damp and heavy outfield meant that the West Indians were denied several rightful boundaries but in the end, their effort of running in that extra mile seems to have paid off.

Even though an obvious victory was denied to the Indians, it seems wrong to blame any one member of the team, a few stray comments blaming Kohli’s impatient nature for the draw were bound to arise and yet, I feel it was simply one of the days when things didn’t work out to India’s advantage, a slew of different measures, techniques and strategies failed due to the West Indies’ tactical and calculated approach. A close-up of Virat Kohli revealed a greyish shade in his beard and it seems like MS Dhoni has passed on his genes along with his captaincy to Kohli! Meanwhile, my tryst with Hindi commentary ends here!