ROSEAU: Ravichandran Ashwin made an immediate impact with two wickets on his return to Test cricket as India reduced the West Indies to 68 for four at lunch on the first day of the opening Test in Dominica on Wednesday.

Omitted for the World Test Championship final against Australia a month earlier, the 36-year-old spinner removed openers Tagenarine Chander­paul and Kraigg Brathwaite having being brought into the attack after just 40 minutes’ play on what looked a placid pitch offering little assistance for the faster bowlers.

However seam bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur then had Raymon Reifer caught behind in his first over while Jermaine Blackwood’s luck ran out when he was brilliantly caught by a leaping Mohammed Siraj at mid-off to the bowling of Ashwin’s spin partner Ravindra Jadeja in what proved to be the final ball before the interval.

Blackwood was dropped first ball off Ashwin by wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan, one of two debutants for the Indians, the other being 21-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, selected to open the batting with captain Rohit Sharma.

Sharma’s opposite number, Brath­waite, will be regretting his decision to bat first at this stage as the home side resumes in the afternoon session with local boy and debutant, Alick Athanaze (13 not out) seeking to impress against a confident Indian side.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES (1st Innings):

K. Brathwaite c Sharma b Ashwin 20

T. Chanderpaul b Ashwin 12

R. Reifer c Kishan b Thakur 2

J. Blackwood c Siraj b Jadeja 14

A. Athanaze not out 13

EXTRAS (W-1, LB-6) 7

TOTAL (for four wickets, in 28 overs) 68

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-31 (Chanderpaul), 2-38 (Brathwaite), 3-47 (Reifer), 4-68 (Blackwood)

BOWLING: Jadeja 2-0-61, Ashwin 10-3-25-2, Thakur 3-1-7-1, Siraj 8-2-17-0 (1w), Unadkat

5-2-7-0

STILL TO BAT: J. Da Silva, J. Holder, R. Cornwall, A. Joseph, K. Roach, J. Warrican

INDIA: R. Sharma, Y. Jaiswal, S. Gill, V. Kohli, A. Rahane, R. Jadeja, I. Kishan, R. Ashwin, S. Thakur, J. Unadkat, M. Siraj

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2023