IND vs WI 2nd Test: Ashwin, Siraj keep India's hopes of win alive

Ravichandran Ashwin produced a peach of a delivery while Mohammed Siraj made the old ball talk as a defensive West Indies crawled their way to 229 for 5 against India on a rainhit third day of the second Test here on SaturdayOnly 67 overs were possible on the third day with West Indies batters looking for a draw adding just 143 runs They are still 209 runs behind Indias first innings score of 438 However there was no letup in intensity in Indian bowling as Ashwin bowled the ball of the series and Siraj delivered a perfect incutter to clean up Joshua Da Silva just at the stroke of rainbreak to end the day on an even keel on the flattest of decksWest Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite 75 off 235 balls used his enormous powers of concentration to frustrate the Indian attack on an insipid track before worlds No 1 Test bowler held the centre stage with a magical moment that brought the smiles back in Indian camp The track on offer here is a poor advertisement for Test cricket and if it gets any rating other than Average from ICC that will be a real surprise If West Indies were indiscreet in their shot selection in the opening Test the home team batters were overcautious and a lifeless pitch helped their negative approach and a draw seems an inevitabilityToiling for close to 73 overs on a track which at best can be called dead Ashwin 3310611 bowled a delivery that had flight and required inward drift which was good enough to entice Brathwaite to plonk his frontfoot for his umpteenth defensive prod But to his horror the ball turned sharply an offspinners dream delivery that went between bat and pad to hit the stumpsA compact defensive player Brathwaites only fault was pushing his bat slightly ahead of his pad instead of keeping it close It allowed the ball to exploit the gap to the fullest The dismissal came just when Brathwaite and an equally stodgy Jermaine Blackwood 20 off 92 balls brought their ultradefensive A game to the fore adding only 40 runs in 21 overs in the postlunch session The Queens Park Oval track has literally nothing in it for bowlers and with West Indies batters intent to block more deliveries creating chances became all the more difficultHaving lost better part of the first session to rain Indian bowlers were left high and dry with the track not showing considerable wear and tear The figures of Ravindra Jadeja at that stage 2510372 was an indication enough that defending wasnt difficult as he hardly bowled any wickettaking deliveries during the postlunch sessionAshwin also had his moments of frustration when he overflighted a few deliveries and was dispatched to the boundary However Jadeja had a gun slip fielder in Ajinkya Rahane who held onto a stunner diving to his left to send back Jermaine Blackwood as he tried to jab at a delivery that took the outside edge of his blade While the new ball was available skipper Rohit Sharma continued with the old ball as Jaydev Unadkat 042 in 16 overs did get some reverse swing without much luckAlso Read Ravichandran Ashwinrsquos spin wizardry lights path for Indiarsquos spell of dominanceBut it was Mohammed Siraj 206481 who bowled one with a wobbly seam as the scuffed up side deviated in after pitching to clean up Da Silva In the morning session debutant Mukesh Kumar was rewarded for his nagging channel bowling as his maiden wicket in the form of fellow debutant Kirk McKenzie Bowling a line which is right on offstump or shade outside of it Mukesh bowled a delivery on fuller side with not enough room to cut which McKenzie 32 off 57 balls edged it to Ishan Kishan for a regulation catch McKenzie who hit four boundaries and a six looked in fine touch and played with a lot of purpose during his 57ball stayHowever one man who would be itching to get into the wickets column will be veteran Saurashtra leftarm pacer Unadkat The domestic workhorse undoubtedly is the weakest link in the Indian bowling attack as he is the only bowler who is yet to get a wicket after 98 overs To be fair his post tea spell was the best but bit more pace on a flat deck would have made him more incisive enough to create problems for the battersWith the next series in South Africa Unadkat with two wicketless Tests in the West Indies might find it extremely difficult to hold onto his place in the squad The difference between him and Mukesh has been the length that the Bengal pacer found which is slightly fuller despite both of them bowling at the same paceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever