Port of Spain (West Indies): Ace batter Virat Kohli reached close to a memorable hundred in his 500th international game after the West Indies put up a fight to limit India to 288 for four at stumps on day one of the second Test here.
India openers skipper Rohit Sharma (80 off 143) and left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal (57 off 74) shared a brisk 139-run stand to provide another perfect start for the visitors before the West Indies struck four times in the afternoon session to put brakes on the visitor's scoring rate.
34-year-old Kohli (87 batting off 161) and Ravindra Jadeja (36 batting off 84) played some elegant strokes in the final session and ensured that the visitors collected 106 runs in 33.2 overs without losing a wicket. Overall, 84 overs were bowled on the first day.
Kohli, who got off the mark with a straight drive after consuming 20 dot balls, will go into the second day just 13 runs shy of his first hundred in an overseas Test since December 2018. The majority of Kohli's six boundaries came on the off side including a picture-perfect cover drive off a Kemar Roach half-volley in the 57th over.
Left-handed Jadeja was equally solid and matched Kohli when it came to piercing the field through the cover region. Kohli notched up his 30th Test fifty with a boundary off spinner Jomel Warrican in the 67th over. At the start of his innings, a relentless Kemar Roach tested Kohli with the fourth stump line but the star batter was able to see off his probing spell.
In the afternoon session, the hosts bowled with a plan and purpose to strike four times, leaving India at 182 for four at tea. The runs came thick and fast in the morning session but dried up in the afternoon with the visitors only managing 61 in 24.4 overs. The batters to be dismissed were captain Rohit, Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (10 off 12) and seasoned campaigner Ajinkya Rahane (8 off 36), who fell at the stroke of tea. The success with the ball was largely because of the discipline shown by the West Indies bowlers, something they lacked in the morning session.
Jason Holder, who could have had Jaiswal caught at first slip just before lunch, got rid of the southpaw by luring him to an expansive drive. The ball had flown over the gully fielder in the morning on a few occasions, therefore, prompting the hosts to push the fielder back. The ploy worked as Jaiswal mistimed the drive and debutant Kirk McKenzie took a sharp catch.
Next to walk back to the dressing room was Gill, who had his second successive failure at his new batting position of number three. Kemar Roach tested him around the off stump and Gill ended up edging a good-length ball back to the stumper. Rohit, who looked extremely good in the middle, was bowled off a beauty from Jomel Warrican.
The left-arm spinner tossed one up and got it to turn a shade from the off-stump to clip the bails. Rahane (8 off 36) played on to an angled-in ball from Shannon Gabriel and his dismissal advanced the tea break by two balls. Earlier, Rohit and Jaiswal maintained their sublime form in the Caribbean to take India to 121 for no loss at lunch. Jaiswal and Rohit, who both scored centuries in India's dominant win in the first Test, looked set for another epic partnership. The visitors scored at a run rate of 4.65 in 26 overs. Jaiswal was dropped at first slip by Alick Athanaze off Holder on the penultimate ball of the session.
The game also marks the 100th Test between the two teams and captains of both India and West Indies were handed a special memento by legend Brian Lara to commemorate the occasion. The West Indies pacers could not create enough chances after their skipper Kraigg Brathwaite put the opposition in to bat with an intent to make use of the early morning moisture in the pitch.
The pacers chose to use the short ball against the Indian openers early on but the move backfired. Rohit first unleashed his trademark pull-off off Roach for the first six of the game before Jaiswal pulled Joseph away for another maximum. The India skipper brought his half-century with a six off Roach in the 19th over. It was a pull shot again from the captain that went all the way.
Jaiswal was quick to slash anything wide and picked up the pace towards the end of the session. He brought his half-century with an on-the-up drive off Alzarri Joseph. (With agency inputs)
