Chase fifty helps West Indies reduce deficit

By our correspondents

August 04, 2016

KINGSTON: Roston Chase became the first West Indian in 11 years to combine a five-for with a half-century in Tests as India were made to work hard on the final day at Sabina Park.

At lunch, the visitors still had a lead of 89 runs to bank on in their push for back-to-back victories away from home.

On day four, along with 82.1 overs, it appeared West Indies’ fight had gone missing too. Their openers fell early, and in ungainly fashion. One senior player fell for a duck and another was a sitting duck against a short ball. It had become a walk in the park for India. This morning, however, they were made to run. The first 25 balls cost 40 runs. The fast bowlers were hit through the line and over the top. The spinners were hit against the turn.

But Chase had finally made it a contest.

Notably, when he was put in trouble by India attacking him with bouncers — Umesh Yadav rapped him on the glove with a short ball directed at his throat — Chase was able to ward them off with a couple of authoritative pull shots. Even when he was defending the rising ball, he wouldn’t take his eyes off it.

His partner Jermaine Blackwood became the first West Indian since Shivnarine Chanderpaul in 2014 to hit two half-centuries in the same match. He found 24 of his 63 runs through and over mid-off.

While his front foot doesn’t move too far towards the pitch of the ball when he attempts the drive, his hand-eye coordination made up for it more often than not. So did him trusting his natural instincts.

A player with his technique - static feet mean the hands invariably end up away from the body - does better going after the bowling and he did so with panache, exemplified by a superb six straight down the ground off Mohammed Shami in the fourth over of the day.

That Blackwood became R Ashwin’s first victim of the second innings, for 63 off 54 balls, meant the balance of power still remained with the Indians.

Nevertheless, West Indies would have been heartened by the fact that they only lost one wicket in two and a half hours of play and had put on 167 runs along the way.

Score Board

West Indies won toss

West Indies 1st innings 196 all-out (J Blackwood 62; Ashwin 5-52)

India 1st innings 500-9dec (K Rahul 158)

West Indies 2nd innings

K C Brathwaite c Rahul b Mishra 23

R Chandrika b Sharma 1

D M Bravo c Rahul b Mohammed Shami 20

M N Samuels b Mohammed Shami 0

J Blackwood c Pujara b Ashwin 63

R L Chase not out 70

†S O Dowrich not out 33