A slightly new-look Indian side, ranked number one in Tests, went into the first Test as favourites, against a struggling West Indian outfit. The thing that was expected to balance out the contest a bit was the sporting pitch which seemed to favour Windies’ quicks. In the end the day belonged to none.
M S Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first. Absence of stalwarts like Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir meant India handed three Test caps - Abhinav Mukund, Virat Kohli and Praveen Kumar. West Indies, rather surprisingly, opted to go with Edwards – who had not played a Test for 2 years - instead of regular Kemar Roach. Adrian Barath and Chanderpaul also returned, so there was no place for Marlon Samuels.
Murali Vijay was the first to go, driving uppishly against the in-form Ravi Rampaul for just 8. Abhinav Mukund’s patient debut innings was ended by the same bowler when he played on at the score of 30. Dravid and Laxman carried the score to 64, but introduction of Devendra Bishoo gave the home team a surprise scalp in the form of Laxman who poked at a leg-break to be caught at slip for just 12.
Laxman’s was a prized scalp that lifted West Indies and they rocked India with three quick wickets. Debutant Kohli was Edward’s delight, while Bishoo got Dravid and Dhoni in the space of two overs. Dravid was looking set after making 40 but went in a similar fashion to Laxman. At 85 for 6, Harbhajan Singh joined Suresh Raina with West Indies sensing big.
The next two hours or so witnessed why India are number one Test side, as both these players, one a suspect against pace and the other an aspiring all-rounder, launched a sensational counter-attack on West Indies. It was like lightening had struck. Bishoo was hit out of the attack while Rampaul was carted all around the park. Sammy returned to cool the things a bit, but after both batsmen crossed fifties there was another wave of gust.
At the stroke of tea, Bishoo was again punished including a thumping six by Harbhajan. After tea both men were looking set for their respective hundreds but Bishoo had other ideas. As Edwards bounced Harbhajan, the instinctive hook went to almost no man’s land on the leg side, but Bishoo pouched it in the air with a sensational effort diving to his left. He made a whirlwind 70 off 74 balls including 10 fours and a six. Both shared a stunning stand of 146 in just 28 overs to revive India from a precarious position.
Edwards then hurried Indian collapse, removing Kumar and Mishra cheaply. Raina was the last man to go holing out off the bowling of Rampaul. He justified his selection by playing a counter-attacking knock of 82 with 15 fours. India were all-out for a below-par 246. For West Indies, Edwards made a successful come back by taking 4 for 56, while Rampaul and Bishoo took 3 wickets each. By the close of play West Indies were 34 for one losing Simmons cheaply to Ishant Sharma.
Day 1 Scores: India 246 all out (Raina 82, Harbhajan 70; Edwards 4/56, Rampaul 3/ 59), West Indies 34/1 trailing by 212 runs
Published in sportpulse.net on 21 June 2011
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