India win Test series 1-0 as rain washes out last day’s play against West Indies in the second match
A dominant Indian cricket team had to contend with a series victory of 1-0 against the West Indies after rain washed out play on the fifth and final day of the second and final Test at Port of Spain.
India had won the first Test match by a huge margin of an innings and 145 runs, which gave them a series victory against the West Indies as well as valuable points in the points table for the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.
No play was possible on the fifth and final day as the West Indies were chasing an improbable target of 365 to win and they were placed at 76/2 at the end of play on the fourth day of the second and final Test.
In the first innings, India had produced a superb performance with the bat putting on a huge total of 438 runs all out which included a masterful century from Virat Kohli who made 121 runs from 206 balls with the help of 11 fours.
India captain Rohit Sharma missed out on a deserving century when he was dismissed for 80 from one 143 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes. On the other hand, opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal made 57 whereas Jadeja scored 61 from 152 balls with the help of five boundaries.
In reply, the West Indies were not as bad as they were with the bank in the first match in Dominica. The home team made a positive start with their captain Kraigg Brathwaite leading from the front. Right-handed batsman Kraigg Brathwaite scored 75 from 235 balls with five fours and a six as he put on 71 runs for the first wicket in the company of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who made 33.
The West Indies were bowled out for 255 with India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj taking a superb five wicket haul on what appeared to be a flat and slow surface in Port of Spain. The Caribbean batsmen were certainly responsible for not converting the starts into big innings as plenty of them being dismissed in their 30s and 20s.
Number three batsman Kirk McKenzie was dismissed for 32 by Indian debutant Mukesh Kumar, Jermaine Blackwood made 20 from 92 balls where impressive young batsmen Alick Athanaze made 37 from 115 balls. If the top five West Indies batsmen showed a lot of fight, the bottom five did not put on much of a fight as they were bowled out for 255 in 115.4 overs.
Having taken a massive lead of 183 runs in the first innings, India started off on a strong note with their opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal ripping apart the West Indies bowling attack.
The young left-handed opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal made a 30 ball 38 with four boundaries and a six whereas Indian captain Rohit Sharma smacked five fours and three sixes to make 57 from just 44 balls.
Shubman Gill was among the runs for the first time on the tour as he made an unbeaten 29 from 37 balls whereas young wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan was able to record his first half-century in the longest format of cricket as he made 52 runs from 34 balls with the help of four boundaries and two sixes.
India declared their second innings at 181/2, setting the West Indies a target of 365 runs to win against which they were placed at 76/2, needing another 290 odd runs to win on the fifth and final day but no play was possible.
The two teams will now be engaged in a three match one-day international series which will be followed by a five match series for T20 internationals.