KOLKATA – West Indies, undermined by high-quality swing bowling from Mohammad Shami, tumbled to a humiliating innings and 51-run defeat against India in just three days of the first cricket Test here yesterday.
In a dramatic post-tea session, Shami unsettled the West Indies batsmen with deliveries that swung prodigiously, bowling them out for 168 in their second innings 20 minutes before the scheduled close on the third day at Eden Gardens.
A few West Indies batsmen got starts, – Darren Bravo’s 37 was the top score, Kieran Powell made 36, Chris Gayle hit 33 and Shivnarine Chanderpaul was not out on 31.
Shami collected five for 47 from 13.1 overs to finish with the second-best match figures by an Indian on Test debut of nine for 118. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin captured three for 46 off 19 overs to help snap the Windies’ six-match unbeaten run.
Gayle gave West Indies a blistering start with some powerful off-side strokes, but the Caribbean side’s plans to remain competitive in the match were left in strife as they stumbled to 112 for three at tea. The left-handed opener fell to fast-medium bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the second time in the match. He miscued a hook at a short, wide delivery from his nemesis and was caught at square leg.
For the duration of Gayle’s innings, Powell had been scoreless and he was fortunate when Ashwin dropped a return catch in his first over from a leading edge.
Powell needed 31 balls to get his first run and fortune again favoured him on seven when Kumar, running a few yards to his right and diving, dropped him at deep backward square leg from the bowling of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.
Bravo, on nine, had two close shaves off successive deliveries in Ashwin’s eighth over. He drove the off-spinner uppishly past silly mid-off and then edged just short of second slip fielder Virat Kohli playing defensively forward.
The two, however, spent close to one and a half hours defying the Indian attack, putting on 68 for the second wicket. They had carried the Windies past the 100-run mark with only one wicket down when Powell was lbw playing back to a shooter from Ashwin.
Next over, Marlon Samuels was dubiously adjudged lbw to Shami for four when he played back to a delivery that swung in sharply. Television replays suggested the delivery might have missed leg-stump.
After tea, there was little substance or stability from the West Indies batting and they lost their last seven wickets for 48 in less than 20 overs.
Earlier, India, resuming from their overnight total of 354 for six in their first innings, were bowled out for 453, highlighted by a record seventh-wicket partnership between century-makers Rohit Sharma, the Man Of The Match, and Ashwin.
Off-spinner Shane Shillingford ended with six for 167 from 55 overs and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul had two for 67 from 23.4 overs.
The victory gave India a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series. The second match starts on Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the home city of the hosts’ batting megastar Sachin Tendulkar, who will be playing his 200th and final Test. (CMC)