India vs West Indies Day 5’s play at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad gets abandoned as rain plays spoilsport. There were predictions of heavy rain throughout the day and the forecast lived upto expectations and not a single ball could be bowled. West Indies needed 289 runs on final day to win and India needed 8 wickets. As none could happen, match ended in a draw. India will consider themselves unlucky despite winning the series 1-0, considering they lost important WTC points.
This game was also the 500th India cap for star batsman Virat Kohli who made the occasion memorable with his 76th international century. His ton and Ravichandran Ashwin’s half-century helped India post 438 in their first-innings.
After a solid start, West Indies collapsed on Day 4 morning to get bowled out for 255.
India batted with aggression in their second innings to swell their lead to 364, and broke a world record in the process for the fastest-ever Test 100.
They declared soon after, leaving the hosts with the choice of either going all out attack to try and chase a big total or batting out Day 5 to claim a draw after losing two early wickets in their second innings.
West Indies, who ended day 4 at 76/2, needed 289 runs to win while India needed eight wickets. But incessant rain meant no play was possible on Day 5.
Both team’s Captain in post match press Conference :-
Kraigg Brathwaite | (West Indies captain): We showed some fight in this game with the bat. Bowling-wise, we can be more disciplined. It was a good comeback from the batters. We lost five wickets yesterday, that wasn’t good. Top-order batting 100+ overs is pleasing. We were positive, we had 98 overs on a pitch that was relatively good. It chase was on. Unfortunately with the weather, we didn’t get a chance.Athanaze looked good from the word go. In the Dominica Test, he belonged. They have good pitches in Australia. Continue working on your game, come and enjoy it. Kirk McKenzie looked good in his first match. These two guys have promise. They are the future. I have a lot of belief in these two. It’ll be good to have some camps, some match practices. Using Kookaburra balls. Preparation is important. We need to bat for long periods against good teams. Some countries have club cricket going on.
Rohit Sharma | (India captain): Every win is different. Playing in WI has its own challenge. Happy with the way things went. We gave it a good shot, unfortunately we couldn’t get any play today. We actually went out with a positive intent yesterday. Rain had its final say. We were quite confident. You know how difficult it is batting last. We always wanted that kind of score where we wanted the opposition to go for it. There wasn’t much on the surface. No play today, unfortunate for us. Siraj, I have been watching him closely. He’s taken such a giant step. He has led this attack. I don’t want anyone to lead the attack. I want everyone to lead when they are having the ball in their hand. You want the entire pace battery taking the responsibility. You need guys like Ishan Kishan. We wanted quick runs, we promoted him, he wasn’t afraid. He was the first one to put his hand up. In Test matches, you need guys who stabilise the innings like what Virat Kohli did, he played superbly. You need the mixture of everything. We have depth, we have got variety. We are in the right place. It’s about getting the job done. I always believe in getting better as a team. I said after the World Test Championship final as well. We’ve played consistent cricket. That’s what we are looking at. We want to focus on all three aspects of the game. We need to be a good fielding unit. Bowlers – how they respond under pressure. What sort of mindset batters go in with under challenging conditions. That’s what I am looking forward too.
Mohd. Siraj was Selected as Man of the Match in 2nd and Final Test Match.
Mohammed Siraj | Player of the Match: This is my first Player of the Match award in Tests, very pleased. There wasn’t much help for the pacers. I kept my plans simple and executed. When you pick wickets in conditions like this, you get loads of confidence. Rohit bhai asked me to believe in myself, not take any pressure and enjoy.
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