West Indies fails to assert home advantage against India in the Test series: Player Ratings for the Hosts
The West Indies cricket team handed an easy win to the Indian team in the two-match Test series. Rohit Sharma & Men did not struggle much to take the trophy home by winning by 1-0. The first Test match between the two sides at Windsor Park in Roseau saw the Caribbeans losing by an innings and 141 runs.
The hosts scored 150 and 130 runs across the two batting innings while the Indian team ended up with a score of 421 runs in their only batting innings. The second match between the two sides ended in a draw as rain resulted in no ball being bowled on Day 5 of the second test.
It was a poor performance by the West Indies team across all the facets of the game, be it batting, bowling, or fielding and they will have a lot of learning to take with them. Let us check out the report card of the West Indies players:
Top Order
Kraigg Brathwaite (5/10): The West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite failed to leave an impact in the two-match Test series both as a batter and a leader. Though he ended up as the top run-scorer for his side in the series, the captain scored only 130 runs across four innings at an average of 32.50.
His only good performance in the Test series came in the second innings of the first Test. Opening the innings, Kraigg hammered 75 runs to help his team reach a score of 255 runs. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old disappointed with his leadership skills as well as he could not rotate the bowlers properly to give a tough fight to the Indian team.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul (3.5/10): Ahead of the commencement of the two-match Test series, a lot was expected from the opening batter Tagenarine Chanderpaul. The fans and the team management were hopeful about him putting up a good performance and stitching a partnership with the skipper.
However, Chanderpaul let the fans down by collecting only 76 runs in four innings at an average of 25.33. The batter’s highest score against India read 33.
Raymon Reifer (1/10): In the two-match Test series, Raymon Reifer got limited opportunities as he was dropped from the playing XI for the second game. The 32-year-old could not do anything substantial in the first Test as he was dismissed by Shardul Thakur while playing at a score of 2 runs in the first innings.
Reifer could do no better in West Indies’ second innings as he lost his wicket to the spinner Ravindra Jadeja after scoring 11 runs off 41 balls.
Kirk McKenzie (3/10): Kirk McKenzie replaced Raymon Reifer in the second Test match, but he also failed to live up to his reputation. In West Indies’ first batting innings of the second Test, the 22-year-old got off to a good start but was dismissed by Mukesh Kumar in the 52nd over at a score of 32 runs off 57 balls.
In the final innings, Kirk bagged a four-ball duck at the hands of the spin master Ravi Ashwin on day three of the second Test.
Middle Order
Jermaine Blackwood (2/10):. Jermaine Blackwood is another West Indies batter who let his team down by dishing out poor performances with the bat. Blackwood started the Test series with a knock of 14 runs in the first innings, while in the second batting innings, he was dismissed at a score of 5. The second Test match saw the 31-year-old scoring 20 runs each in both innings.
Alick Athanaze (6/10): Alick Athanaze was the top run-scorer for his team in the first innings of the first Test match with a knock of 47 runs off 99 balls. However, the batter could not do well in the second innings and ended up losing his wicket to Ravichandran Ashwin while playing at 28 runs.
Alick scored the most runs for West Indies in the first innings of the first Test
He scored 37 runs in the first innings of the second Test while the batter did not get a chance to bat in the final innings as rain abandoned the match. Apart from his contributions with the bat, Athanaze was useful with the ball in hand as he picked up skipper Rohit Sharma’s wicket in the first test followed by a brilliant catch to dismiss star batter Virat Kohli.
Joshua Da Silva (1/10): Joshua Da Silva was one of the worst performers for West Indies during the two-match Test series. He could add only 2 and 13 runs to the scoreboard respectively in the two batting innings. The wicketkeeper failed to work his charm in the second match as well.
He did not get a chance to bat in the final innings while in West Indies’ first batting innings; he scored 10 runs.
All-rounders
Jason Holder (5/10): In comparison to other West Indies players, Jason Holder performed slightly better in the two-match Test series against the Indian cricket team as he contributed both with the bat and ball. Holder scored 53 runs across three innings at an average of over 26.
Meanwhile, he also picked two wickets at an average of over 61 after bowling for a total of 43 overs.
Bowlers
Alzarri Joseph (1/10): Alzarri Joseph was one of the worst performers for the West Indies cricket team during the two-match Test series. After bowling a total of 44.2 overs across two games, he picked only one wicket while conceding runs at an average of over 214 and an economy rate of over 4.5.
Rahkeem Cornwall (3/10): Rahkeem Cornwall featured in the playing XI only for the first Test match as he was ruled out of the second test with a chest infection. He could not do much in the first Test match as the skipper handed him the ball only for 16 overs.
Cornwall bowled a total of five maiden overs and picked a crucial wicket in the form of Kohli. Rahkeem maintained an economy rate of two throughout the match while conceding 32 runs and taking one wicket.
Kemar Roach (5/10): Kemar Roach ended up as the second-highest wicket-taker for the West Indies in the two-match Test series against India. The right-arm faster picked four wickets after bowling for 50 overs at an average of 50 and an economy rate of 4.00.
Jomel Warrican (6/10): The West Indies bowler who recorded his name as the top wicket-taker for the team in Jomel Warrican. The 31-year-old occupies the fourth place in the overall list with five wickets from 90 overs across two Test matches at an economy rate of 2.57.
Warrican’s best performance came during the first innings of the second Test as he picked up a total of three wickets in 39 overs. Shannon Gabriel (2/10): Shannon Gabriel replaced Rahkeem Cornwall in the playing XI of the second Test match. He picked one wicket each across both innings of West Indies.