NEW DELHI – Seventeen wickets fell during a riveting second day’s play but neither West Indies nor India could claim the upper hand in the see-saw first test at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium earlier today.
Pragyan Ojha (6-72), who claimed the first and the last wickets of the day, and his spin team mate Ravichandran Ashwin (3-81) mowed down the West Indies bottom half for 48 runs in 17.2 overs to restrict their first innings to 304.
In reply, openers Virender Sehwag (55) and Gautam Gambhir (41) batted as if they were in a limited-overs game, adding 89 runs in 12.3 overs before the Indian line-up, with the glorious exception of Rahul Dravid (54), folded for 209.
West Indies came out to bat for the second time with a 95-run first-innings lead but lost both their openers Kieran Powell (0) and Kraigg Brathwaite (2) to finish the second day at 21-2, having lost much of their advantage.
Kirk Edwards (15) was batting with Fidel Edwards (0) when stumps were drawn with West Indies having stretched their overall lead to 116 runs.
“Looking at the wicket, we won’t take anything for granted just because we bowled them out for less than 250. The plan is to score as many runs as possible,” West Indies captain Darren Sammy said. “We would like to put 350-plus on the board.”
Ojha’s double strikes in the morning session triggered West Indies batting collapse as the visitors, resuming on 256 for five, exhibited their spin frailty with nine of them falling to the Indian slow bowlers.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (118) added seven runs to his overnight score before falling to one of the four leg-before decisions of the morning session.
Chanderpaul’s 196-ball knock included seven fours and two sixes. (Reuters)
