West Indies vs India: Ashwin spins out Windies before Rohit & Jaiswal confirm India’s dominance on Day 1

Considering the quality of the batting on display, it would not be apt to call the five-wicket haul on Day 1 at Windsor Park Ravichandran Ashwin’s redemption. Having been left out of the World Test Championship final last month, one of the most talked-about omissions in the hory of Indian cricket, was a bitter pill to swallow.The current crop of West Indies batsmen are not at the level of the likes of Steve Smith and Travis Head, so it would be unfair to extrapolate that having Ashwin at The Oval would have brought a different result. But the off-spinner displayed all the wares at his disposal to prove that he can make a positive difference to any attack.Of course, the conditions in Dominica were a far cry for what they found in south London in early June. Ashwin and his spin twin Ravindra Jadeja would have felt totally at home as they shared eight wickets between them on a dry surface with plenty of encouragement for them to bundle out the hosts for just 150 in under 65 overs.
When it was India’s turn to bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal took 16 balls to get off the mark on Test debut, and did so with a cut shot over point. Skipper Rohit Sharma survived an ‘umpire’s call’ on an LBW appeal against the express Alzarri Joseph, but apart from that, there were few alarms. A straight drive to a full ball from the speedster was one of the highlights.
Spin, in the form of Rahkeem Cornwall, was introduced in the eighth over itself, but the openers seemed bedded in for the long haul. With an unbeaten stand of 80, Sharma (30 batting) and Jaiswal (40 batting) had taken India more than halfway to the hosts’ total, with all 10 wickets intact.
With the pitch and bowling not presenting too many problems, it will be a question of application as to how long and how big the batsmen can go. Ideally, India would like a big enough first innings lead and aim to bat only once in the game.
Jaiswal showed his audacity, or confidence, depending on how one looks at it, as he reverse-swept left-arm spinner Jamal Warrican for four off a ball that pitched well outside his leg-stump. If he goes on to get a significant score on the second day, and Shubman Gill delivers in his new position as No.3, some questions about the transition process that Indian cricket has embarked upon may be answered to a degree. But with due respect to the West Indies, final confirmation may have to await a few tougher challenges.
Gulf in class
The West Indies, for all their struggles in white-ball cricket, have been a decent side in the longest format over the last few years, especially at home. But the Indian team, despite missing some of its more experienced and key players, was dominant with both ball and bat on the first day.
Proceedings in Dominica showed that it was a game between a team that had made two WTC finals in succession, and one that had not beaten the opposition in a Test, home or away, for 21 years.
Earlier, Ashwin had the familiar feeling of being brought on very early in the piece, as he is used to in home conditions. Mohammed Siraj and Jaydev Unadkat had beaten the bat on numerous occasions with the new ball, with little luck. But as soon as spin was introduced, things began to happen.
Ashwin dismissed Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has been retired for a decade, four times in Tests. But the Caribbean legend didn’t seem to have given any clues to son Tangerine on how to counter the master spinner.
The current West Indies opener, who has taken after his father in stance, playing style and temperament, was all at sea. The left-hander could have been out first ball, just avoiding the forward short leg. He seemed especially wary of the LBW threat against Ashwin, and was tentative on every ball.
The beauty of Ashwin’s craft is that he can challenge both edges of the bat, against both right and left-handers. And he showed his class against the rookie opener.
Going wide of the crease, he looped one on middle stump, and got it to turn just enough to hit the top of off stump. The line and trajectory had Chanderpaul worried about falling LBW, there failing to counter the regulation off-break.
Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite likes to bat for a long time, but decided pretty early that he couldn’t just be a sitting duck against Ashwin. He took the master tweaker on, hitting him through midwicket for a boundary and a slight miscue over mid-on. The batsman thought that with a majority of the deliveries turning into him, he could safely target the onside. He played a well-executed sweep for another boundary, prompting Ashwin to go for a change of angle.
He must have noticed the bottom-hand grip employed Brathwaite, and went round the stumps, angling a flighted ball across the right-hander, making the swipe to the leg-side much tougher. The obvious shot now would have been through or over the offside, but the grip made it difficult. Targeting the wide mid-on region again, Brathwaite just managed to slice across the ball and the skier was easily held his Indian opposite number.
Silver lining
The shot selection of most of the West Indian batsmen, apart from debutant Alick Athanaze who showed the talent and temperament to score runs at this level, left a lot to be desired. Jermaine Blackwood went for a big shot against Jadeja on the cusp of lunch, only to be caught brilliantly a leaping Siraj at mid-off. Raymon Reifer struggled at No.3 and was caught behind, going for a loose drive against Shardul Thakur. Joshua da Silva tried a cut to a ball too close to his body and gave debutant wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan his second catch. Jason Holder, who had stopped the rot in a partnership with Athanaze, top-edged a pull off Siraj with a fielder placed precisely for that shot.
The more experienced West Indian batsmen would have done well to take a cue from Athanaze, who showed grit and application while going for his shots when opportunities presented themselves, including a six over cow corner off Ashwin.
It was only he was left with the lower order that he probably tried to hit a pull off Ashwin a bit too hard to reach a half-century on debut, and skied a catch to mid-on. But the left-hander had shown enough to promise something worthwhile in these desperate times for West Indies cricket.
The lower order seemed lacking the wherewithal to counter the challenge posed Ashwin and Jadeja – there was hardly much celebration for some of the wickets, signifying that it all may have been too easy.
The surface was quite dry for a first-day wicket and there were frequent puffs of dust when the ball made contact with it. It seemed more like an Indian wicket and West Indies would be struggling for ways to get back into the contest on Day 2. Their below-par batting display has already left them a mountain to climb.