Mohammed Siraj gives India a chance of clean sweep, but West Indies live to fight another day

Even in the infancy of this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, getting a clean sweep against the West Indies seems imperative for India’s chances of making a third successive final. With series against South Africa, England and Australia lined up this term, Rohit Sharma & Co would have liked to believe that the two Tests in the Caribbean were a bit of a banker.If they do manage to get the 2-0 scoreline they are after, they will be grateful to Mohammed Siraj, who did what was imperative to keep their hopes alive cutting through the West Indies middle and lower order to get his second five-wicket haul in Tests. The last five West Indies wickets went down for only 26, giving India a massive first-innings lead of 183.India then rushed to 181/2 in 24 overs, around two rain interruptions, setting the hosts a target of 364 in less than four sessions, with Ishan KIshan helping himself to an unbeaten 34-ball 52, after Rohit (57 in 44 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38 in 30) had given the visitors a lightning quick start.

Just reminding you all of this match too, where Siraj has taken a 5-fer. 👏
India lead 183 going into the 2nd innings! #INDvWIonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/xNk2ZAdWrV
— FanCode (@FanCode) July 23, 2023
After a rather positive start, the West Indies ended the penultimate day on 76/2. Ravichandran Ashwin got home captain Kraigg Brathwaite for the fourth successive time in the series – this time top-edging a sweep – before debutant Kirk McKenzie was trapped in front a quick slider from round the stumps for a duck. The master off-spinner will be the biggest threat for the batsmen on the final day too, with the pitch starting to provide some assance to tweakers. Apart from the possible resance from the West Indies batsmen, India may also have to overcome the weather too in their quest for a 2-0 series triumph, with a significant prospect of rain on Monday.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul seemed intent on survival on Day 4, often failing to see scoring opportunities at first, while Jermaine Blackwood curbed his natural aggressive instincts to occupy the crease for a long time in the first innings, but not for too many runs. They will begin the hosts’ challenge on the final day, with 289 more runs needed for an unlikely victory, as India hunt for the remaining eight wickets.

It’s pouring here in Trinidad! 🌧️
While we wait for sunshine, let’s throw some light on a couple of stats from today!
Captain @ImRo45 regered his Fastest Test Fifty (in 3⃣5⃣ balls) 🔝@mdsirajofficial regered his best-ever Test-match figures (5⃣/6⃣0⃣) 👏
Scorecard ▶️… pic.twitter.com/sSoKQTzWKg
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 23, 2023
With the hosts taking as many as 115.4 overs to score 255 in the first innings, the number of runs they scored was not as big an issue as time, especially with rain eating into the playing time. With the hosts bowled out in double quick time on Sunday morning, it allowed Rohit and Jaiswal to do what they are used to for their IPL franchises.
Jaiswal set the tone with the first ball of the innings, as he went for a wild hoick against Kemar Roach. He didn’t get the desired outcome on that ball, but the intentions were clear from the outset. The left-hander stepped out in the first over itself, making room to hit the pacer over wide mid-on for a six. Next ball when Roach got too straight, he was creamed through the onside for a boundary.
Quickfire start
Rohit was in the mood as well, and the Indian innings got off to a start that would have been more than acceptable in a T20 game. The scoring rate was in the high 10s after four overs, and the 50 came up in just 34 balls.
The West Indian fielders did their bit to extend hospitality with Shannon Gabriel and Kirk McKenzie dropping what would be described as sitters at the international level, Rohit the beneficiary on both occasions as he went on to a quickfire fifty.

8⃣0⃣ in the First Innings
5⃣0⃣ up & going strong in the Second Innings
Talk about captain leading from the front! 👏 👏
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/d6oETzoH1Z#TeamIndia | #WIvIND | @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/1faAxumv92
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 23, 2023
The stop-start proceedings on Day 4 showed where the West Indies are as a Test team, being competitive against top teams for only isolated periods without quite acing the significant passages of play. When push comes to shove, they falter as they did on Day 4 – with their lower order caving in, and their bowling and fielding succumbing to the assault the Indian openers.
When the fielding side’s focus strays from getting wickets, it frees up the batsmen to such an extent that field placements don’t quite matter. West Indies skipper Brathwaite spread his men far and wide pretty quickly, even though third man, for some reason, was kept untenanted. Boundaries, both fours and sixes, seem to come almost every other delivery, on both sides of the wicket, as the West Indies pace bowlers were treated with utter disdain.
Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican has arguably been the best bowler for the hosts in the series, but Brathwaite, quite inexplicably, was hesitant to bring him on despite everybody else going to the cleaners. Maybe, he was content to take as much time out of the game as possible with the faster bowlers taking longer to finish their overs.

That’s a smashing way to bring your maiden Test 50*@ishankishan51
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.#INDvWIonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/WIFaqpoGiD
— FanCode (@FanCode) July 23, 2023
Rohit holed out eventually before the first rain interruption of the day brought an early lunch. When Warrican was brought on after the resumption, he immediately had Jaiswal, who went for a big heave. Shubman Gill, who hadn’t had a productive series, remained unbeaten on 29, with Kishan, sent in at No.4 instead of Virat Kohli to keep the left-right combination going.
Gaining reputation
Siraj is not a Test veteran any stretch of the imagination, but his wobble-seam delivery has already become a pretty potent weapon. He got one to snake in through the gap between bat and pad to dismiss Joshua da Silva on Saturday, and returned to make quick work of the West Indies lower order on the fourth morning. After Mukesh had performed the crucial job of getting the impressive Alick Athanaze with a marginal LBW call, Siraj showcased his prowess to get the other overnight batsman, Jason Holder, going wide of the crease and getting one to leave the tall right-hander against the angle, inducing an edge through to wicketkeeper Kishan.

2⃣3⃣.4⃣ Overs6⃣ Maidens6⃣0⃣ Runs5⃣ Wickets
One brilliant bowling display from @mdsirajofficial! 🙌 🙌
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/d6oETzoH1Z#TeamIndia | #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/7pZxTR88Ez
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 23, 2023
The rest of the batting didn’t offer much resance. Alzarri Joseph and Gabriel were caught in front wobble-seam in-duckers, while Roach fell to an expansive drive to a full, wide ball that swung away. Siraj returned figures of 5/60, his best yet in Test cricket, as the fragility of the West Indies tail came to the fore again. With neither Jasprit Bumrah nor Mohammed Shami in the Caribbean this time, Siraj is the most experienced seamer in the XI and led from the front. He has ensured that his name will always be in the reckoning if more than two quicks are needed, even if the more experienced pair is available for selection.