PORT-OF-SPAIN: Debutant Mukesh Kumar claimed a maiden Test wicket for India as West Indies reached 117 for two at lunch on a rain-hit third day of the second and final Test at Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday.

Resuming at 86 for one on an increasingly benign surface, Kr­a­­igg Brathwaite and Kirk Mc­­K­­­enzie made serene progress almost to the end of the first hour.

But then left-handed McKe­nzie wafted at a wide delivery fr­o­m Kumar to give the seamer his first Test wicket as he edged a catch to wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan.

Dismissed for 32 off 57 balls in an innings featuring four fours and a six, the 22-year-old’s dejected walk back to the pavilion coincided with the arrival of steady showers which grew in intensity to force an early lunch interval.

West Indies captain Brath­waite will resume on 49 in conditions which are very much his element. He has so far faced 161 deliveries, stroking four fours.

On the second day, Virat Kohli’s first overseas Test century in five years helped India to a mammoth total of 438, before the hosts made a solid start in response.

Kohli made a classy 121 off 206 balls, a knock which had 11 fours, while Ravindra Jadeja (61) and spin partner Ravic­handran Ashwin (56) ensured that the tourists put up a commanding score.

The West Indies, who lost the opening Test of the two-match series, started slowly in testing conditions but reached 86-1 at the close of play.

Opener Tagenarine Chand­erpaul looked good at the wicket in his 95-ball knock of 33 but was caught by Ashwin off the bowling of Jadeja shortly before stumps.

Earlier, Kohli looked in fine fettle after reaching his 76th century overall in his 500th match for India across all formats before being run out by Alzarri Joseph.

But Ashwin added valuable runs during his 78-ball effort to swell the team’s score and heap pressure on the hosts. Jomel Warrican also picked up three wickets for the West Indies, including the last two Indian players.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA (1st Innings):

Y. Jaiswal c McKenzie b Holder 57

R. Sharma b Warrican 80

S. Gill c Da Silva b Roach 10

V. Kohli run out (Joseph) 121

A. Rahane b Gabriel 8

R. Jadeja c Da Silva b Roach 61

I. Kishan c Da Silva b Holder 25

R. Ashwin b Roach 56

J. Unadkat st Da Silva b Warrican 77

M. Siraj lbw b Warrican 0

M. Kumar not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-8, W-1) 13

TOTAL (all out, 128 overs) 438

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-139 (Jaiswal), 2-153 (Gill), 3-155 (Sharma), 4-182 (Rahane), 5-341 (Kohli), 6-360 (Jadeja), 7-393 (Kishan), 8-416 (Unadkat), 9-426 (Siraj)

BOWLING: Roach 22-2-104-3 (3nb), Joseph 22-0-97-0 (1w, 1nb), Gabriel 18-0-74-1 (3nb), Warrican 39-7-89-3, Holder 21-3-57-2 (1nb), Athanaze 4-0-12-0, Brathwaite 2-1-1-0

WEST INDIES (1st Innings, overnight 86-1):

K. Brathwaite not out 49

T. Chanderpaul c Ashwin b Jadeja 33

K. McKenzie c Kishan b Kumar 32

EXTRAS (NB-3) 3

TOTAL (for two wickets, 51.4 overs) 117

STILL TO BAT: J. Blackwood, A. Athanaze, J. Da Silva, J. Holder, A. Joseph, K. Roach, J. Warrican, S. Gabriel

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-71 (Chanderpaul), 2-117 (McKenzie)

BOWLING: Siraj 11-3-34-0 (1nb), Unadkat 9-0-31-0, Ashwin 15-4-29-0, Kumar 6.4-2-11-1 (2nb), Jadeja 10-6-12-1

Published in Dawn, July 23th, 2023