Showers in Basseterre had threaten to wash way day’s play but conditions were normal after toss. (Source: BCCI)
The opening day of India’s two-month long sojourn in the Caribbean was a portent of how things could unfurl as the series progresses and attains a graver hue. The massive stands of the Warner Park in Basseterre were thinly-populated, the strip, as had been Caribbean surfaces of late, was devoid of any life and bounce, and was more like a sluggish third-day wicket in the subcontinent, and the bowlers, some of them Test hopefuls, were largely insipid. But it served India’s purposes, as far as batsmen getting some useful red-ball practice was concerned, for they have been gorging on a diet exclusively of T20s since the turn of this year.
After Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first, the openers, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, blunted the fast bowlers with resolute defence, though the conditions hardly warranted such circumspection. There was literally nothing on the surface for the fast bowlers to exploit, despite sporadic showers in the morning, or for the batsmen to unduly worry about. And the West Indies Board President’s XI bowlers hadn’t the virtue of discipline. They erred with their lines, and had the openers been more bent on aggression, they would have tore into them with relish. Instead, Dhawan and Rahul carefully built their innings. For, even if it was a practice match, both had enough stakes in it.
For Dhawan it was about survival, or rather staying relevant. Sure, he’ll be the favourite to open with Murali Vijay in the first Test in Antigua. But there has been question marks over his consistency and technique, after his low-yield series against South Africa, which he began with a pair and in five further innings, couldn’t cross fifty. His partner, and the one who is yapping at his heels, Rahul, had a slightly tetchy day. While he was mostly comfortable, he couldn’t curb his expansive drives. He was beaten a couple of times, before edging one to left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, only the late reaction of the first slip bailing him out.
On the other hand, Dhawan grew in confidence and attacked the spinners. Upon completing a fluent 51, laden with seven boundaries, he was called back to the pavilion, to be replaced with Cheteshwar Pujara.
Likewise, Kohli displaced Rahul soon after his 99-ball 50. Followed an encore of the first hour, when both batsmen were intent on adjusting to the conditions than punishing a modest bunch of bowlers.
After 48 overs of toil, West Indies’ bowlers had their first taste of success, when Warrican had Kohli caught behind off a thin outside edge. Coincidence or not, the Indian skipper was twice dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja in the practice game in Alur during India’s preperatory camp in Bangalore. It’s now certain that West Indies’ selectors would be dialling all the half-decent left-arm spinners in the islands for the Antigua Test.
Brief score: Indians (1st innings) 146 for 1 in 50 overs (Dhawan 51, Rahul 50) vs WICB.
