Two debutant spinners for India highlighted the first test match against the West Indies. West Indies scored 304 in their first innings with Shivnarine Chanderpaul scoring 118 and opener Kraigg Braithwaite 63.
Left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha picked up 6 wickets for 72 runs on his debut. India was bowled out for 209 runs from some consistent bowling from almost all the West Indies bowlers. Captain Darren Sammy picked up three wickets for 35 runs, Ravi Rampaul 2 for 44, Davendra Bishoo 2 for 55 and Fidel Edwards 1 for 57.
For India, opener Virender Sehwag scored 55, while his opening partner Gautham Gambhir scored 41.
West Indies with a lead of 95 runs from the innings failed to build on a competitive winning total in their second innings when they were bundled for 180 runs. Chanderpaul scored 47, Sammy 42 and Kirk Edwards 33.
Ravichandran Ashwin Picked Up 6 Wickets For 47 Runs
Debutant Ravichandran Ashwin made a mess of the West Indies batting with his accurate bowling. Most of the West Indies batsmen failed to read the line of the spinners’ bowling. Apart from Chanderpaul who used his experience to counter attack after scoring a fluent century in the first innings, it was chaos for the West Indies batsmen. Captain Sammy chipped in with a quick 42. The Indian team was set 276 to win, which they did quite easily reaching 276 for 5 with Virender Sehwag scoring 55, Vvx Laxman 58 not out and Sachin Tendulkar 76. India won by 5 wickets.
Aggressive Cricket
India’s Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his players are geared to play aggressive cricket throughout the Tests and O.D.I. Series. India as a team is much more experienced and they are already proving their qualities. The opposition plan is to outplay the West Indies in every sector.
West Indies is hurting badly in the opening position with two inexperienced openers in a Test match. Rampaul and Edwards are having a testing time against the Indian openers who are bent on being aggressive from the start. Rampaul is accurate but he does not have the pace to contain the batting of these experienced batsmen.
Fidel Edwards Needs A
Fiery Backup
Here comes the time that was long over due when two genuine pacers are needed to combat the fierce batting of Indian batsmen, specifically the openers. For the West Indies to make any progress in these two series with India, they must pick up early wickets and cause some uncertainty. If not, the West Indies will be blown away in the Test series.
The Test series would be a much easier going for the West Indies than the O.D.I. India is very strong at home, particularly in the limited overs. It must be remembered that they are the World Cup Champions.
One vital error the Head Coach Ottis Gibson and his selectors made was to omit Kemar Roach from the Test side and failed to make him a starter in the Test series against India in the Caribbean and as a result he lost his rhythm. He came and played against Bangladesh and he fought to get that rhythm back. In spite of Ravi Rampaul’s wicket taking skills, two genuine pacers are needed against India at home or abroad.
Windies Batsmen Must Show More Skill Against Spinners
Some techniques have to be developed by the West Indies batsmen when facing top spinners. India has a long list of spinners, so the West Indies batsmen will not have an escape route. They have to put their best talents on show to avoid the embarrassment as a team. The West Indies batsmen must exhibit some positive efforts.
