By: Tarish Bhatt
The Indian players walked out of the field with broad smile on their faces. There was a sense of belief. They knew the Test is now in their grasp, and it’s just a matter of two good sessions or maybe three to wrap this up.
West Indies are following-on, and trailing by a margin of 302 runs in Antigua. They need something spectacular to stop the Indians from taking the initiative in the series. At this point it is looking highly unlikely.
India are in a dominating position all thanks to their pacers, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami. The Indian pacers bowled with vengeance, and shared eight wickets between them on a slow pitch.
“The main thing we planned was to bowl as many maidens as possible, and not give easy boundaries,” Yadav said. “Whether it’s the coach or Virat, the whole team sits and discusses the same thing.”
“If it’s said in the meeting that we have to bowl maidens, then we have to bowl maidens,” he added. “We know we won’t take 20 wickets otherwise.”
In the second innings too, Indian bowlers are sticking to the same strategy. They have bowled six maidens so far out of the 13 overs. Owing to which, India also managed to dismiss Kraigg Brathwaite cheaply.
“Didn’t get a big enough stride in the second innings,” Brathwaite said. “Part of being an opener. It’s important for us to come out tomorrow and bat the entire day. If we can surpass the lead, that’d be good.”
