Shami gives India the edge against West Indies

Sudhir Gupta 08:38 24/07/2016
Fast and furious: Mohammed Shami made an excellent comeback

Indian pace bowlers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav grabbed four wickets each as hosts West Indies were bowled out for 243 and forced to follow-on.

Replying to India’s mammoth first-innings total of 566 for eight declared, West Indies fell short by 323 runs on the third day of the first Test yesterday.

Indian captain Virat Kohli then enforced the follow-on and the West Indies lost opener Kraigg Brathwaite, top-scorer in the first innings, in 13 overs to finish on 21-1, still 302 runs in arrears.

Shami ran through the toporder and finished with 4-66, while Umesh Yadav took 4-41 and did the damage towards the end. Brathwaite was the only batsman to defy the Indian assault in the first innings for any protracted period and his was the last wicket to fall before the tea interval.

Unable to get his bat out of the way of a sharp lifter from Yadav, he fell for 74, giving wicketkeeper Wriddiman Saha his fifth dismissal of the innings.

Yadav had claimed his first wicket of the innings just a few minutes earlier when he ended the brief defiance of Roston Chase (23), the debutant miscuing an attempted pull and giving a simple catch to Indian captain Virat Kohli.

His dismissal ended a 47-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Brathwaite and held up India’s progress for just over an hour when it appeared they would have ripped through the rest of a suspect batting line-up just after lunch.

That was when Shami, in the midst of an inspired spell of bowling, removed Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Blackwood in the same over to have the West Indies tottering at 92 for five.

Having dismissed Rajendra Chandrika on the second day, Shami, playing his first Test match since January last year against Australia in Sydney, removed Darren Bravo just before lunch to a catch at the wicket.

Shami then drew Samuels into acareless waft outside the off-stump for Saha to take another catch. Blackwood was then surprised by the extra pace and bounce of the bowler’s fourth delivery to him and Rahane held the comfortable catch at gully to send the batsman back to the pavilion without scoring.

At that stage, the West Indies had lost four wickets for 24 runs either side of the lunch interval. In contrast to the afternoon rout, India were made to work hard for early success at the start of the day as Brathwaite and nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo defied the bowlers for first 75 minutes.

Amit Mishra got the breakthrough, the leg-spinner getting Bishoo stumped. Shane Dowrich showed some measure of defiance in the final session before he ran out of partners after making an unbeaten 57 in 79 balls with 10 boundaries.

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