Windies dig deep in second Test against India

West Indies reached 215/5 in their second innings at lunch on the final day to raise their hopes of drawing the second Test against India at the Sabina Park here on Wednesday.

Chase batted throughout the day, initially supported by Jermaine Blackwood, who hit an aggressive 63 from just 54 balls before falling to the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin.

Beginning the afternoon session on 215-5, batsman Shane Dowrich passed 50 before being dismissed for 74 by spinner Amit Mishra.

But as the sun shone bright over Sabina Park on the fifth morning, it pretty much erased even the slightest of doubt that India would extend their domination and bowl out West Indies to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four match series.

“It was just outstanding”, said West Indies captain Jason Holder, who played his part with an unbeaten 64 batting at number eight. While Chase’s knock must be celebrated, at the same time, it ought to be mentioned that a five-bowler attack couldn’t take six wickets on fifth day pitch.

A day of very little play saw four wickets fall cheaply in just under 16 overs, Mohammed Shami (2-25), Amit Mishra (1-4) and Ishant Sharma (1-19) doing the damage without exerting themselves against their lacklustre hosts. The 22-year-old Barbadian has been recalled into the squad following Chandrika’s barren run of form in the two Tests at Antigua and Jamaica, where he managed an aggregate of 53 runs across four innings.

Virat Kohli went all out on attack against the West Indian batsmen going into the day but the tactic failed to bear any result on what looked like a reasonable surface to bat on.

West Indies ended the Test with a score of 388, 82 runs ahead of India. “But, whether we play in India or overseas, what important for me is my process and preparations”, Rahane said after the end of the day play.

Two overs later, the Bengal pacer broke the West Indies’ batting order, as Bravo couldn’t cope with a short delivery again. Not that the Indians were bowling badly, but this was a completely different West Indies side they were facing, compared to the first innings, in which they were bowled out for 196. We got a really good partnership between Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase at the beginning of the day, and that set it up for us. The hosts will try to save the match on day five, with play scheduled to begin at 9.30 am local time and 98 overs to be bowled in the day.

West Indies have axed opener Rajendra Chandrika for the third Test against India starting next Tuesday in St Lucia, and have recalled Shai Hope to the 14-member squad.

“You can’t really look at the forecast and take decisions”, said the coach.