The third Test match of the West Indies – India series ended on Saturday with the visitors wrapping up a rather comfortable series victory, defeating West Indies by 237 runs in St Lucia despite an entire day being lost to rain.
It was a disappointing show by the West Indies, their final-day collapse a world away from the brilliant resistance they had shown in the previous Test in Jamaica. India, who made wholesale changes to their team, showed great skill and execution – a marked improvement from the previous game.
This match thus had many memorable moments, and here we look at the five best.
CUMMINS’ NINE-WICKET MATCH HAUL
Miguel Cummins was the lone bright spot in a dismal Windies show
Miguel Cummins had made his debut in the previous game at Jamaica, and looked pretty pedestrian. Not swinging the ball, not getting it to move off the pitch, and absolutely down on pace. It would have been easy to write him off, but West Indies chose to stick with him and reaped great rewards in a match haul of nine wickets.
In this Test, even though most of his wickets came through batsmen trying to force the pace, Cummins showed what he could do. Bowling tight lines, he tied batsmen up. The bouncer served as his sucker punch, and he used it well, while also managing to swing the ball and generally enjoying the simple pleasure of bowling.
West Indies will now expect performances like this one at the world stage more regularly and he certainly requires them if he is to establish himself as the side’s front line bowler. This is just the beginning, albeit a very positive one.
R ASHWIN’S SECOND CENTURY
R Ashwin notched up his second ton of the series
So serene has Ravichandran Ashwin been at number six that it is sometimes easy to forget that he is a bowler first and a batsman later. His strokeplay exudes magic and is a treat to watch. Even in this match, he came into bat with India in dire circumstances and played the role of a blocker to perfection. Tall and classy, he’s not one to get fazed by criticism – be it about his bowling or his batting, he’s always taken it well.
This innings was no different; drives, pulls, and those backfoot punches seem so pleasing to the eye. Even though he was dropped twice, Ashwin made full use of the chances. This innings was one India desperately needed, and his batting is single-handedly winning India matches. Nothing better could come from this promotion to number six in the batting order.
SAHA’S MAIDEN TEST CENTURY
Wriddhiman Saha brought up his first Test ton after a wait of 6 years
It’s taken six years and 14 matches for Wriddhiman Saha to become a Test centurion. After MS Dhoni retired from whites, the responsibility fell directly on Saha’s shoulders and he needed to perform straight away as the likes of Naman Ojha and Sanju Smason were hot on his heels. While his glovework is absolutely phenomenal, doubts remained about his batting.
A couple of fifties here and there hadn’t done enough to silence the critics. But in this innings, the attributes that Saha showed have answered most of the questions people had of him. He proved he had a solid technique – otherwise it would have been impossible to survive the testing West Indian bowling on the first evening and on the second morning. He proved that he has the temperament to succeed at the highest level – exemplified by the way he handled the pressure and kept rotating the strike throughout.
It was a wonderful knock, one which which dug India out of a hole on the first day when they had lost their first five wickets with just 126 runs on the board. He held fort because he knew if he fell, it would open the floodgates and make it nearly impossible for India to win the match.
While India may never find a true replacement for MS Dhoni, in Saha they have someone who is going to have a great future. He has the skill and the temperament, as we saw in this innings. It’s just a matter of time till the runs become a consistent feature of his game.
BHUVNESHWAR’S FIVE-WICKET COMEBACK
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing was a lethal weapon
Two years ago, on India’s tour to England, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled brilliantly and was by far India’s best bowler. He was named player of the series, picking up five wicket hauls at Trent Bridge and Lord’s. Since then, he has just played one Test for India. It came in Sydney, when he was recovering from an ankle injury. Down on pace and short on confidence, he ended up with nightmarish figures of 1 for 168.
In trying to increase his speed, he had lost virtually all of his banana swing, his great strength. This eventually led to him being dropped from the ODI and T20I squad as well. It was as if he had lost himself. This was not the Bhuvneshwar we knew.
So there was a lot riding on this match for him. And from the word go, he seemed to be in fantastic rhythm. The ball was coming out nicely, falling on the seam and deviating miles off the pitch. Batsmen, like earlier times were left shell shocked. After having lost the entire third day to rain, India needed to bowl the West Indies out cheaply to have a shot at winning. And it was Bhuvneshwar’s spell post lunch that turned the game around, his five wickets coming for just 33 runs, off almost 24 overs.
Jermaine Blackwood, Alzarri Joseph and Shane Dowrich were caught in the slips, Jason Holder was leg before and Marlon Smauels bowled of an inswinger after being beautifully set up with a series of outswingers and sttraight ones. This was a spell right out of that top drawer, a spell that won India a Test match abroad.
CURRENT TEAM’S FIRST SERIES WIN OUTSIDE ASIA
This was the first time an Indian side had won more than a single Test in the Caribbean
Since Virat Kohli has taken over as captain of this Test team, it has shown a very positive growth. An attacking captain has infused in his men an aggressive mentality, one which always encourages them to go for a win even if they lose as a result. What he has also done is be brave with the selection, not at all hesitant to go in with five bowlers and a batsman short. It speaks of a burning fire to win, one which all other members of his team seem to share with him now.
This method, this style has held them in good stead, for there have been convincing series victories in Sri Lanka, at home against South Africa and here against the West Indies. All the while, they have lost just a solitary Test, against Sri Lanka at Galle.
Another win in the next match would propel them to number one is Test cricket. While that seems premature – gruelling tours to Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand still remain – this team has shown that it has the potential to reach the pinnacle of Test cricket in the next couple of years.
The current Indian Test team is exciting, and that’s not a statement we’ve made too often in recent times.
