On Day 2 of the second Test in Port of Spain, India concluded their innings with 438 runs. However, a patient half-century stand from Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul was frustrating for the Men in Blue till the wicket of Chanderpaul fell and India was able to put a stop to the West Indies’ resistance.
But Brathwaite and Kirk McKenzie made sure that it was the only success with the ball for the visiting team as West Indies entered Stumps on Friday (July 21) at 86/1 although still facing a 352 run deficit.
In response to India’s substantial score, Brathwaite and Chanderpaul got off to a cautious start while the Indian new-ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Jaydev Unadkat bowled challenging lines. The pacers kept the openers in check, save for a ball that Siraj mishandled and Brathwaite sent for a four, and a forceful shove by the West India captain off Unadkat for three. In the eleventh over, R Ashwin joined the attack, and Mukesh Kumar, making his debut, was given the ball for the fourteenth. The West Indian openers, who were content to play the wait-and-watch game, continued to be put to the test.
In the 18th over, against Mukesh, Brathwaite guided the ball beyond the slip cordon for the second four of the innings. Three different balls were used, but that didn’t do much to help India because the wicket wasn’t very conducive to bowling. In contrast, Chanderpaul paddle-swept Ashwin for his maiden boundary in the 19th over, and he repeated the move in the following over to achieve the same outcome. The openers batted resolutely to prevent India from getting wickets, taking 22 overs to reach a half-century stand. The West Indies openers were not in a hurry despite Ravindra Jadeja’s series of maidens, which he bowled alongside Ashwin.
Siraj, who had been reintroduced to the assault, went short and occasionally put Chanderpaul in peril, although he was also hit for two fours. The opening stand, which reached 71, was the best for West Indies against India since Adrian Barath and Brathwaite contributed 137 runs in Mumbai in 2011. But it came to an end when Chanderpaul was edged to short third man by Jadeja. At the conclusion of the day’s play, Kirk McKenzie and Brathwaite were both undefeated after smashing sixes off Ashwin over long-off and driving a Jadeja delivery through covers for fours, respectively.
Earlier, Kohli scored his 29th Test century to put India in a strong position. He had been waiting for his maiden away Test century since December 2018. Early on Day 2, Kohli surpassed Sir Don Bradman’s record for Test hundreds, and he and Jadeja formed a significant relationship that fueled India’s advancement. While the set hitters were bowled by the West Indies throughout the session, Kohli and Jadeja spearheaded India’s comeback after they had fallen to 182/4 on Day 1.
At the start of the day, West Indies decided to use the second new ball, but Kohli and Jadeja were unfazed as they each hit their individual milestones and increased their partnership above 150 with regular boundaries. However, Kohli’s 206-ball stay was cut short when he was caught short at the non-striker’s end by a direct smash from Joseph. Ishan Kishan approached the match with a bright outlook and took on Jomel Warrican in an effort to score a few boundaries. Jadeja’s innings, though, too came to an end in the first session when he attempted a wide drive only to edge a delivery from Kemar Roach to the wicketkeeper, prompting West Indies to use the DRS to send him back.
India passed 400 in the second session with to Ashwin’s consistent 56. Ashwin had to bat with the lower order for the duration of the post-lunch period, making it somewhat sluggish going for India. However, he managed to make a significant impact and score some quick runs towards the end to ensure India passed the 400-run threshold. By collecting the final four wickets for 45 runs, West Indies ensured that the tail did not wag for too long.McKenzie missed a difficult chance, giving Kishan a respite. Kishan and Ashwin had a 33-run stand. But the Indian wicketkeeper-batter was unable to capitalise since he was caught behind on the very next delivery, resulting in his death. In Warrican’s over, Ashwin then utilised the DRS to overturn a leg-before decision and used his feet to the spinner to score some runs. Unadkat’s stumping off of Warrican put an end to their 23-run partnership with Ashwin.
McKenzie missed a difficult chance, giving Kishan a respite. Kishan and Ashwin had a 33-run stand. But the Indian wicketkeeper-batter was unable to capitalise since he was caught behind on the very next delivery, resulting in his death. In Warrican’s over, Ashwin then utilised the DRS to overturn a leg-before decision and used his feet to the spinner to score some runs. Unadkat’s stumping off of Warrican put an end to their 23-run partnership with Ashwin.
Soon after, Siraj was dismissed, leg-before Warrican, with West Indies successfully utilising the review this time. The ball appeared to strike Siraj’s front pad first, which may have led to the decision being reversed, but India decided to review the ruling. This time, however, the impact ruling was confirmed. The broadcasters initially showed different footage of Jadeja’s caught behind review, with the bat appearing to be close to the pad, and then changed it during the tea break with the commentator Darren Ganga quoting that the right decision was ultimately made. This was the second time that DRS was in the news. When Mukesh was at the crease as the No. 11 batsman, Ashwin smashed a flurry of boundaries to reach fifty before he became the last to depart as Roach picked up three along with Warrican.
Brief scores: India 438 (Virat Kohli 121, Rohit Sharma 80, Ravindra Jadeja 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 57, R Ashwin 56; Jomel Warrican 3-89, Kemar Roach 3-104) lead West Indies 86/1 (Kraigg Brathwaite 37*, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 33; Ravindra Jadeja 1-12) by 352 runs.