Gros Islet: India recovered to 234 for five at stumps on day one of the third Test against the West Indies, courtesy an unbeaten 108-run stand between Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin in Gros Islet, St Lucia on Tuesday.
India, put in to bat, found themselves at a precarious 126/5 before Ashwin (75*) and Wriddhiman Saha (46*) grinded it out to steady the innings and batted out the entire final session.
Early on, opener Rahul’s crisp 50 off 65 balls came after the visitors lost Shikhar Dhawan and captain Virat Kohli cheaply.
The West Indies, with their morale boosted after securing a dramatic draw in second Test, bowled with purpose to put the opposition under pressure. Debutan pacer Alzarri Joseph was impressive and took the prized wicket of Kohli.
Post-tea, Ashwin and Saha looked to get things going again, and build a partnership that could dig India out of a huge hole. And while they succeeded in doing so, there were quite a few hiccups along the way. In the 55th over, three overs after play resumed, Jason Holder (0-27) swung a delivery in sharply and Saha shouldered arms, only for the ball to hit the flap of his pad. Umpire Nigel Llong deemed it not out, with the batsman on 1 at that time.