West Indian skipper Jason Holder won the toss and elected to bat first on a grassy track in the 2nd Test Match against India at Sabina Park. The hosts lost three wickets early on before Jermaine Blackwood and Marlon Samuels steadied the innings at the end of 1st session on day 1.
Ishant, Shami Strike Early
It was again the spearhead duo of Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami who came out on top of the batting line-up and did the early damage. Sharma bowled a beautiful delivery to get rid of last match hero Kraigg Brathwaite on just 1. Darren Bravo couldn’t last for long either as he was sent packing on the very next ball. Mohammad Shami then got the wicket of Rajendra Chandrika on 5 as the hosts were reduced to 7 for 3 in just 6 overs.
Blackwood Rescues The Hosts
The pair of Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Blackwood then took it upon them to come to the side’s rescue. Blackwood later hit some big shots down the ground and managed to build up a decent partnership with Samuels.
His partner Marlon on the other hand struggled initially to find the meat of the bat but later got going with some lusty blows. Spin attack of Ashwin and Mishra hardly troubled the batsmen as Blackwood brought up his 6th fifty in Test Cricket.
Before the batting pair could do more damage, it was India’s go-to bowler Ravichandran Ashwin who put a break on the run-rate. Right before lunch he got rid of the dangerous looking Blackwood for 62. At lunch, West Indies are 88 for 4 in 26 overs. (Blackwood - 62, Ishant - 2/24)