India vs West Indies, Highlights, 1st Test, Day 1 at Antigua, Full Cricket Score: Heavy rain forces early stumps with India at 203-6

India v West Indies, 1st Test, Day-1:

Session – 1: 68/3 (24)
Session – 2: 66/1 (23.2)
Session – 3: 69/2 ( 21.3)

Rain halts play for the second time in the day

After 68.5 overs,India 203/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 20 , Ravindra Jadeja 3)

Tricky time for Pant and Jadeja to survive. There is a lot of movement around the fence. So much so that the groundsmen have ran onto the ground much to umpire’s disliking as only one ball was remaining in Chase’s over. Umpire Kettleborough sends them back but the rain has started to come down heavily and now the players are going off (LOL). Proper scenes at the ground. So that leaves us with one ball short of the 69th over before the play is halted by another rain break.

After 68 overs,India 203/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 20 , Ravindra Jadeja 3)

Holder lines up his second consecutive overs. Ian Bishop on air says “inclement weather is imminent” and reckons we have couple of minutes before another stoppage in play.

After 67 overs,India 203/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 20 , Ravindra Jadeja 3)

Tight over from Roston Chase. Hasn’t been many by the off-spinner today. Just a single from the over. Wind just starting to pick up pace at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium.

After 66 overs,India 202/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 20 , Ravindra Jadeja 2)
 

Holder with a sharp lifter that takes off from short of a length on middle stump which whizzes past Pant’s gloves who was chasing the line of the ball. Pant carefully plays out a maiden. Still some time before the second new ball – 14 overs to go.

After 65 overs,India 202/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 20 , Ravindra Jadeja 2)

Pant moves to 20 with the help of his fourth boundary. The four brought up the 200 for India. Couple of singles on either side of the boundary with Jadeja seeing out the second half of Chase’s over.

After 64 overs,India 196/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 15 , Ravindra Jadeja 1)

Jason Holder comes back on to bowl. Pant knows now is time to cash in, having seen off the bowling of Roach and Gabriel. With a couple of off drives, Pant adds six more runs via a four and brace to his name. India approach the 200-run mark. Drinks taken.

After 63 overs,India 190/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 9 , Ravindra Jadeja 1)

Roach deliveries a maiden now. Jadeja and Pant doing the right thing by seeing the two strike bowlers out as they recognise they are approaching the end of their spell. Jadeja plays out this one without much ado.

After 62 overs,India 190/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 9 , Ravindra Jadeja 1)

Pant edges it short of slip cordon off the first ball of Gabriel’s over. There was a big shout for a leg before appeal but replays show it was pitched outside leg. A maiden for Gabriel.

After 61 overs,India 190/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 9 , Ravindra Jadeja 1)

Roach continues to asks challenging questions to Jadeja in the over. He follows his tried and tested method of holding the line outside off for five deliveries in the over before slipping the one that goes on with the angle. Jadeja is saved courtesy DRS that showed he had an inside edge before the ball came in contact with the pads. Maiden.

After 60 overs,India 190/6 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 9 , Ravindra Jadeja 1)

Kudos to Holder for persisting with Gabriel, who snaffles a big wicket in the form of a very well-set Rahane. The wicket has given West Indies the upper-hand as of now. Rahane must get his stars checked, he has done well in several Test innings but the hundred has remain elusive. Rahane’s wicket brings Ravindra Jadeja to the middle, who is off the mark with a single.

OUT! Oh dear… the wait for another Test ton prolongs for Rahane. How often have we seen this? Rahane finding a way to get out after looking in supreme control?

Gabriel bowls the heavy ball outside off, holding it back of length outside off that does dart back in a touch and the movement does Rahane in. He was looking to ride the bounce and push it on the offside ends his playing it ontoo his leg stump. Once again a very solid knock but a tame end. 

Rahane b Gabriel 81(163)

After 59 overs,India 189/5 ( Ajinkya Rahane 81 , Rishabh Pant (W) 9)

Roach tries to target the stumps with a full delivery on the middle stump after couple of deliveries outside off, Rahane has looked in supreme control, methodically clips the ball off his legs behind square on the leg side for a brace. Rahane also ends the over with a quick single to covers.

After 58 overs,India 186/5 ( Ajinkya Rahane 78 , Rishabh Pant (W) 9)

Pant with a very good looking shot through the offside in Gabriel’s over for a boundary. The four prompts to a change in the angle for Gabriel, who switches back to over the wicket. Tries the bouncer to finish the over and Pant has no problems in ducking under it.

After 57 overs,India 182/5 ( Ajinkya Rahane 78 , Rishabh Pant (W) 5)

Roach steams in to bowl his 14th over of the day in the 57th over of the match. Rahane expertly works a back of length delivery behind point for one. Roach keeps it outside off stump to Pant, who is at the moment happy to leave the ball but the bowler angles one into Pant’s middle stump with the Indian wicket-keeper able to get forward and tap it towards mid on for a single to end the over.

Rishabh Pant batting average in Tests:

1st innings – 59.50
2nd innings – 37.33

After 56 overs,India 180/5 ( Ajinkya Rahane 77 , Rishabh Pant (W) 4)

Rahane tucks a short ball aimed at his ribcage towards long leg for one that brings Pant on strike. Gabriel held the length back for the most part of the over, getting one to lift and swerve as well. Pant felt for it as well, but avoided to withdraw in time. Puts away a full toss to start his innings with a boundary.

After 55 overs,India 175/5 ( Ajinkya Rahane 76 , Rishabh Pant (W) 0)

Kemar Roach continues to bowl his heart out and he is rewarded in the form of his third victim of the day. Like he dismissed Agarwal and Pujara, he has Vihari out edging to the wicket-keeper. Decent knock from Vihari, who stitched a vital partnership with Rahane but the game has opened up once again. Has Vihari done enough to keep Rohit Sharma in the wings? He will obviously have another innings to make his case. Rishabh Pant walks out to the middle. Roach switches to change the angle and operates round the stumps for the final ball of the over to the left-hander, who shoulders arms to a ball outside off stump. Successful over for West Indies.

…AAAAAND he’s gone! Call it the curse of the couch. 

Kemar Roach does the job for WI again, just as Rahane and Vihari were clawing India ahead post tea. The partnership might have been snapped abruptly, but it could yet prove to be a crucial one – 82 runs in 20.3 overs, coming as it did after India were four-down before getting to 100.

The big question now, though – which Rishabh Pant are we going to see?

OUT! Roach strikes! Another magnificent delivery from Roach, right in the corridor of uncertainty outside off stump. Vihari is caught no man’s land, neither too forward nor back. He is stuck in his crease, the line forces him to play at it which he only edges it behind. The ball does dip on its way to wicket-keeper Shai Hope, who does well to dive forward and catch it cleanly. After a little check from the umpires, Vihari carries on his walk to his pavilion. What a time by Roach to pick a wicket for West Indies.

Hanuma Vihari c Shai Hope b Roach 32(56)

After 54 overs,India 174/4 ( Ajinkya Rahane 75 , Hanuma Vihari 32)

Shannon Gabriel is called back into the attack. Wow! Some significant movement inwards after the ball is pitched wide on length outside off stump. Vihari is beaten on the inside edge and with the ball rearing sharply, wicket-keeper Shai Hope isn’t able to grab it neatly. Vihari changes the end with a bye. Gabriel does trouble Rahane before he solidly taps it to sweeper cover for a single off the final ball.

Hanuma Vihari’s slowly but surely worked himself into the middle after entering at a precarious moment in the game. A few thick edges going to the boundary, but he’s looked assured, while also keeping the scorecard ticking.

Some may have questioned his selection over Rohit Sharma with a bare glance at his numbers, but put that down to public memory being both short-lived and lacking in empathy: Vihari was asked to open, right out of the blue, at the MCG in a Test that would pave the way to a historic series win – the scoreboard will say eight off 66 balls, but an Indian opening pair lasted 18.5 overs for the first time in a decade, and that played no small part in what followed.

There has to be an added value to the guys who take one for the team, and now is the time for Vihari to kick on to bigger things, knowing that no spot in the Indian middle-order after number four is a lock-in.

After 53 overs,India 172/4 ( Ajinkya Rahane 74 , Hanuma Vihari 32)

Roach returns to the attack. He ends the over with a fantastic riposte after he was cut for a boundary by Rahane off the penultimate ball. He gives a little death stare to Rahane as well. The partnership between Vihari and Rahane has already added 79 runs for the fifth wicket.

After 52 overs,India 168/4 ( Ajinkya Rahane 70 , Hanuma Vihari 32)

With just a shimmy across, Rahane whips a ball on off stump to long on with Jason Holder from short mid on giving a big chase and just managing to keep the ball inside the field of play. Three runs for Rahane. Vihari is able to collect a boundary to mid on as India continue to gain control of their innings.

After 51 overs,India 161/4 ( Ajinkya Rahane 67 , Hanuma Vihari 28)

Runs coming in boundaries for the visitors. Rahane begins the over with a boundary to deep extra cover before changing the ends with Vihari off the next ball. Vihari will retain strike for the next over with a single off the final ball of Chase’s over.