Roseau (Dominica). Debutant left-hander Alyque Athanajé showed some resistance in 58 overs at tea on the first day of the first Test at Windsor Park on Wednesday and was looking to put a price on his wicket before falling for 47 as India bundled out West Indies for 137. Put another session in your pocket by stopping at /8.
After taking four wickets in the first session, India took four more wickets, two of them by Ravichandran Ashwin, while conceding only 69 runs. The visiting team is now just two wickets away to bowl out the West Indies for the minimum score.
The hosts’ sub-standard batting effort was mainly due to some careless shot selection, including a confident, calm and balanced looking Athanazey. Batsmen were getting destroyed when trying to attack the balls without showing enough patience, which left a lot to be desired.
The impressive Athanaz started the second session with a quick four-run drive off Ravindra Jadeja. But the left-arm spinner made a comeback by cramping Joshua da Silva to cut with a straight ball and extra bounce to Ishan Kishan, who completed the catch on the rebound.
But Athanazey continued to impress, smashing Thakur’s delivery for four, followed by pulling Ashwin for another boundary. Jadeja comes into the attack as Athanazhe first drives him through square leg and then Jason Holder hits it straight down the ground to collect two fours.
The sparse home crowd cheered even more when Athanazhe went down on his knees to smash Ashwin for a six over mid-wicket. As the 41-run partnership began to lift West Indies out of trouble, Mohammed Siraj’s short-ball persistence was rewarded as Holder pulled it straight to deep square leg. Ashwin returned to the bowling attack and got his third wicket when Taken when Alzarri Joseph misses the slog over backward point. The dismissal also helped Ashwin claim his 700th wicket, making him the third highest wicket-taker in international cricket after Anil Kumble (956) and Harbhajan Singh (711). The off-spinner took three wickets in the 55th over. Athanaze was kept in tight control of the deliveries and on the last ball of the over, the left-hander tried to pull the short ball over midwicket. But the ball went up and was easily caught at mid-on, leaving Athanaz three runs short of his maiden Test fifty. Brief scores: West Indies v India 137/8 in 58 overs (Alick Athanaz 47, Ravichandran Ashwin 4/49)
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