WI vs Ind, 1st Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal's bumper debut knock of 171 puts visitors in command, take 250 run lead (Day 3, Lunch)
Jul 14, 2023
Roseau [Dominica], July 14 : Sensational knock of 171 runs from debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal and an unbeaten half-century by Virat Kohli put India in a commanding position on the Day 3 of the first Test against West Indies here at Windsor Park on Friday.
At Lunch, India were 400/4, leading West Indies by 250 runs with Kohli (72) and Ravindra Jadeja (21) standing unbeaten at the crease.
Having started the day on 312 for 2, Jaiswal and Kohli showed great patience throughout their 110-run partnership.
Jaiswal was the first to bring up his 150, becoming the third Indian after Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma to do so on Test debut. But in the 126th over, Alzarri Joseph provided the important breakthrough for West Indies as Jaiswal departed after a dream knock of 171 in his debut innings. Joseph managed to produce an edge from Jaiswal’s bat as Joshua Da Silva made no mistake behind the gloves to grab it.
Jaiswal's wicket invited Ajinkya Rahane to the crease. Rahane got off to the mark early with a single. Virat Kohli continued to bat with his cautious approach. Seasoned batter Rahane departed for just three as Kemar Roach got his first of the night. A soft dismissal as Rahane pushed it on the cover where Jermaine Blackwood took an easy catch. At this point, West Indies started to fight back and crawled back into the game now.
Kohli brought up his half-century with a single off Jomel Warrican’s to reach the mark. The batting maestro took 147 balls to hit the half-century. He displayed great discipline in the innings but needed to break the shackles to up the run rate.
Ravindra Jadeja also started slow and scored three runs off 21 balls. On the other side, Kohli continues to bat with the same defensive approach to take India forward. Only six runs came off the last four overs for India.
However, it did not take Jadeja to break the shackles and smashed Alick Athanaze for a maximum. Kohli followed shortly after as he smashed Kraigg Braithwaite for a boundary. 13 runs came off the last overs as India decided to up the run rate before the Lunch break. Two wickets fell in the session as the 44-run partnership between Kohli and Jadeja took India to 400/4 at the time of lunch on day three.
Brief score: West Indies 150 (Alick Athanaze 47, Kraigg Brathwaite 20; Ravichandran Ashwin 5-60) vs India 400/4 (Virat Kohli 72*, Ravindra Jadeja 21*; Alzarri Joseph 1-78).