1st Test: Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli strengthen India’s grip on Antigua Test
Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli scored fifties as India ended Day three with the score of 185/3, leading West Indies by 260 runs in the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound in Antigua on Saturday.
Rahane, who had scored 81 in the first innings, was not out on 53 while Kohli was batting on 51 at stumps as India strengthened their grip on the series opener.
Kohli and Rahane joined forces after India were 81/3, following Cheteshwar Pujara’s dismissal and put up an unbeaten 104-run partnership.
Earlier, India bowled out West Indies, who started the day on the overnight score of 189/8, for 222, securing a 75-run lead.
India were looking for early strikes but skipper Jason Holder and Miguel Cummins denied India that opportunity as the two added 41 runs. Shami broke the partnership as he dismissed Holder before Ravindra Jadeja ended Cummins’ 95-minute 45-ball duck inning, second longest duck in Test cricket, to end West Indies’ innings for 222.
West Indies managed to dismiss Mayank Agarwal shortly after lunch as Roston Chase trapped the Indian opener before the stumps.
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While Rahul and Pujara added 43 runs together to push India past 70-run mark, Rahul perished as Chase, who dismissed the Indian openers for the second time in the match, scalped his second wicket of the innings.
Pujara was the next man to get out as Kemar Roach let one sneak through Pujara’s bat and pad to disturb the timer. Having picked up four wickets in the first innings, this was Roach’s fifth wicket in the series opener.
Brief scores:
Second innings: India 185/3 (Ajinkya Rahane 53*, Virat Kohli 51*; Roston Chase 2/69) vs West Indies
First innings: India 297 all out (Ajinkya Rahane 81, Ravindra Jadeja 58; Kemar Roach 4/66) vs West Indies 222 all out (Roston Chase 48, Jason Holder 39; Ishant Sharma 5/43)