The West Indies, looking down and out for most of the Second Test, came back from behind to secure a draw in what was definitely one of the greatest fightbacks in recent history.
With some help from the rain gods and brilliant resistance from Roston Chase and Co. on the final day, the West Indians kept their hopes of winning the series alive.
There were many memorable moments in this match and here we take a look at the five best.
AJINKYA RAHANE’S SEVENTH TEST CENTURY
Rahane’s was a Laxman-esque innings
Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli’s deputy, has probably been one of the most consistent batsmen in Test cricket for the past couple of years now. Equally adept at playing against high-quality spin and good old fast bowling, Rahane is known to score some very tough runs under testing conditions.
Six of his eight centuries have come overseas, and the two he scored at home were on a near minefield in Delhi late last year.
Coming into this match, Rahane had looked in decent touch in Antigua before falling to a Devendra Bishoo long hop for 22. Eager to justify his elevation to vice captaincy, and to fully utilise his good form, he played with intent and confidence right from the outset and looked completely at ease.
Apart from a top-edge which flew over first slip, he hardly put a foot wrong, finding gaps and on occasions going over them with the authority of a man who understands and believes in his game. The comparisons with Rahul Dravid seem inevitable but we may see him playing the sort of role VVS Laxman played for India during his prime. Either way, it bodes well for his team.
ROSTON CHASE’S MAIDEN FIVE WICKET HAUL
Roston Chase equalled Sobers’ long standing record
Roston Chase is the sort of player West Indies have long been looking for – a solid batsman with a watertight technique and a decent off-break bowler who plays a support role. Had it not been for the absence of the big ticket players, busy doing CPL duties, Windies cricket would not have been exposed to Chase’s talent so early.
A proper middle-order batsman who can turn his arm over – albeit one with a first class bowling average of 25 – Chase would probably consider himself fortunate to be regarded as a full-time Test match bowler.
This gulf in class in terms of his bowling was showcased in the first Test when he went wicket-less for 34 overs, conceding 102 runs in the process. With the bat, he could manage just 23 and 8. Coming into this outing, Chase must have felt the pressure to justify his selection, and make the most of his captain Jason Holder’s decision to use him over premier spinner Bishoo.
Maybe it was a one off; maybe it was the Sabina Park wicket; maybe it was some invisible force. Whatever it was, Chase bowled a tantalising spell of high quality off spin. He was pitching the ball perfectly, imparting revolutions, extracting a lot of bounce, and getting it to turn a mile.
He troubled each and every one of India’s batsmen, and a wicket seemed just round the corner whenever he bowled. He beat the batsmen in the air, getting Virat Kohli and Amit Mishra caught at bat pad, bowling Mohammed Shami through the gate, before getting the dangerous looking Umesh Yadav to mistime one to mid wicket.
Even though three of his five wickets were that of bowlers, the way he bowled and the way he tested the top order including centurions KL Rahul and Rahane, makes his performance a memorable one for the West Indies. They will hope he bowls like this in the next two Tests as well, especially with Bishoo struggling for rhythm.
R ASHWIN’S 18TH FIVE-WICKET HAUL
Ashwin picked up yet another five-wicket haul
One has got be a bit special to take 18 five-wicket hauls in 34 Tests and Ravichandran Ashwin is certainly that.
If Chase’s spell was excellent, Ashwin’s was a couple of notches higher. Reminiscent of Graeme Swann in his heyday, Ashwin used all the Sabina Park wicket had to offer, as best as he could, deceiving the batsmen in flight and winning the battle of patience against them.
Ball after ball was bowled in the same spot, playing on the West Indian batsmen’s minds, and the wickets followed. The way he beat Marlon Samuels after being hit for six, is the stuff all young off-spinners around the world would want to emulate – inviting the batsman to come down the wicket again, only for him to realise that ball was a touch shorter, and much slower, spooning a catch to short leg as a result.
This series is the first time Ashwin has shown that he can be the same force outside the subcontinent as he is on the rank turners at home. Even though his real test is yet to come, on the tours to England , South Africa and Australia, if he continues to bowl like he did in this Test, the world is waiting to be conquered.
KL RAHUL’S THIRD TEST CENTURY
Can Rahul be ignored any longer?
This was KL Rahul’s sixth Test match, five of which have come due to an injury to either Shikhar Dhawan or, as in this case, Murali Vijay. In the 11 times he has batted, he has scored three Test centuries in three different parts of the world. There was 110 against Australia in his second Test at Sydney after a horrific debut at Melbourne, 108 against Sri Lanka at Colombo, and this 158 in Jamaica.
Apart from these three knocks, however, he has been out on single digits seven times; and even though he has shown that he has it in him to score runs at the Test level, he is yet to prove that he can do so consistently. This innings however, seemed to be his coming of age.
A very mature knock, he fed of the loose West Indian bowling on the first evening to race to 75 by the end of day’s play. But it was on the second morning that Rahul brought out his best game. Showing exemplary patience, and some very encouraging eagerness to put the bad balls away, Rahul looked a complete Test batsman.
Not getting frustrated when the West Indies fast bowlers were bowling a fifth stump line, or when Chase was testing him with some brilliant off-spin bowling, and not getting carried away when the tired West Indians bowled loose deliveries at a canter, he played a classic Test match knock.
Ever since the IPL this year, he seems to have evolved as a batsman and has added the extra gear his batting earlier lacked. Even though he leans towards the defensive side, there has been enough evidence to suggest he won’t get stuck at the crease like Cheteshwar Pujara does.
With this wonderful knock, Rahul has created a welcome problem for Kohli and coach Anil Kumble. It seems unlikely that he would be dropped and that would mean one of Dhawan or Pujara might have to make way.
Rahul deserves a regular run in the team now. And if he keeps churning out performances like this, which show that he plays both pace and spin comfortably – a rarity for an Indian opener – it would only augur well for India.
CHASE’S MAIDEN TEST CENTURY
Roston Chase chased India’s hopes of a win away
One can say what they want about how Chase’s bowling, despite his five wicket haul in the first innings, is not Test level, but there’s no way the same is true about his batting. This innings proved that Chase has it in him to become a top notch Test batsman, one who should have a long career with the Windies cricket team.
Scoring a century against a poor attack, under no pressure and on flat wickets is one thing. But scoring a century in only your second Test, against a good attack and with your team needing to survive the entire fifth day to save a Test match on a challenging wicket, is quite another.
The innings was a masterclass and the fact that Chase kept his composure and showed positive intent throughout is what stood out. No matter what the Indians threw, he never backed off and gave back as good as he got.
In the able company of Jermaine Blackwood and young Shane Dowrich, Chase looked to dominate right from the morning session and successfully deflated the Indian attack. By far the most technically sound of the West Indian batsmen, he showed a certain class and surety about his game which one doesn’t associate with the current crop of batsmen West Indies have.
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