An impressive Yashasvi Jaiswal crossed 150 early in the first session but the debutant eventually fell for a massive 171 as India reached 400/4 in 142 overs at lunch and extended their lead to 250 against West Indies on day three’s play in the first Test at Windsor Park Stadium, here on Friday.
It was a session where India made 88 runs in 29 overs at the loss of two wickets of opener Jaiswal and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. Virat Kohli is unbeaten on 72 off 170 balls, his 29th Test fifty, with Ravindra Jadeja giving him company on 21 not out off 52 balls at lunch.
Resuming from 312/2, Jaiswal brought out a beautiful shot early on, showing the full face of the bat for a delightful straight drive off Jason Holder for four, before reaching his 150 with a pulled single through deep backward square leg.
West Indies had a chance to send Kohli back to the pavilion if Kraigg Brathwaite at short cover off spinner Jomel Warrican. Kohli would flick Joseph for four, followed by Jaiswal crunching an upper cut over backward point to bring up the century of the partnership.
Jaiswal brought the shot of the session by dancing down the pitch to smash Warrican for a six straight down the ground. But in the next over, he fell to Joseph while trying to punch a fourth-stump delivery and nicked behind to wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva, bringing a fantastic debut Test knock to an end.
Jaiswal’s 171 is the highest score by an Indian on debut away from home, and is overall the third-highest score by an Indian batter in his first Test innings. The left-hander faced 387 balls, which is the longest innings played in terms of balls by an Indian batter on Test debut.
However, Rahane did not last long, spooning a simple catch to short cover off Kemar Roach as West Indies suddenly sensed a chance to comeback in the match on a pitch slowing down. Shortly after, Kohli reached his fifty and Jadeja showed aggression by pulling Alick Athanaze with ease over deep mid-wicket for six.
After being mostly sedate and dealing in strike rotation, Kohli quickly shifted gears by flicking twice for fours off Athanaze and Brathwaite. He even brought out his trademark cover drive, while Jadeja picked another boundary through the pull as India reached 400 at the end of a session full of attrition cricket.
Brief scores: West Indies 150 trail India 400/4 in 142 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 171, Rohit Sharma 103; Kemar Roach 1/41, Alick Athanaze 1/53) by 250 runs.
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