WI v IND, 3rd Test Review: India clinches historic series win

Virat Kohli and India created history after a win on the final day of the third Test at St. Lucia. Although rain made a divine intervention, it was clear that Virat and his Men in Blue were destined for a victory. Ravi Ashwin, who would eventually go on to be named as the man of the match, was a part of the win as he contributed with both bat and ball as the Indians went on to claim a splendid 237-run win. Moreover, this is the first time that the Indians have won more than one Test match in a series against the West Indies. They now have won the last three Test series in a row.

Having rung in the changes, it was the West Indies that won the toss and invited the Indians to have a bat first. Things began in an awry manner for the Indians when they began losing wickets at a quick clip in the first session of the first day’s play. Moreover, the Windes were clearly pleased when Alzarri Joseph, the debutant on the day made a mark with a wonderful spell of bowling.

Wriddhiman Saha and Ravi Ashwin however, had plans of their own as they went on to smash 118 and 104 respectively, something that saw their team dig themselves out of trouble. The twin centuries also ensured that the Indians reached the all-important 300-run mark, something that would go on to play a psychological game with their opponents on the day. The West Indies gained the upper hand at the close of play on the first day when they were on 107/1 on the back of Kraigg Brathwaite’s 64.

Although the following day was washed away by rain without a ball being bowled, there was indeed plenty of cricket left to be played. However, as luck would eventually have it, the West Indians seemingly shot themselves in the foot when they began to lose wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar played the role of wrecker-in-chief when he picked up five wickets as the Windies were cleaned up for a paltry 225.

Requiring quick runs, the Indians began their quest to set a total on the evening of the fourth day’s play. Ajinkya Rahane secured his second innings in the match when he smashed his way to an unprecedented 78 and remained unbeaten as he did. The Indians set a healthy total of 346, something the Windies would have to chase down with just half a day remaining. Surely, they were not worried about the total rather than the fact that they should save the game. Miguel Cummins starred with the ball as he went on to claim six wickets in the innings.

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However, in what turned out to be somewhat of a distinct similarity to the previous innings, the Windies shot themselves in the foot yet again. This time, the only difference was the fact that they were removed by the Indian pacers and were off to a bad start. Apart from a  Darren Bravo half-century, the rest of the West Indies batsmen had terrible failures with the bat. They were bowled out for 108, thus handing the Indians an important 237-run win.

Brief Scores:

India, 1st innings: 353 all out

West Indies, 2nd innings: 225 all out

India, 2nd innings: 217/7 (A Rahane 78*; M Cummins 6/48)

West Indies, 2nd innings: 108 all out (DM Bravo 59; M Shami 3/15)

Man of the Match: Ravi Ashwin