Mumbai, Nov 14 (IANS) The West Indies did well to reach 93 for two at lunch after India put them in to bat on a tricky day one pitch at the Wankhede Stadium here Thursday.
Opener Kieran Powell (45 not out) held the innings together and the West Indies would have also loved to see Darren Bravo (29) remain in the middle.
Ravichandran Ashwin had Bravo caught behind just before the morning session ended, giving the Indians the opportunity to make inroads into the fragile West Indies batting order post lunch. Pacer Mohammed Shami dismissed the dangerous Chris Gayle (11) cheaply.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni disappointed fans who came to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat in his farewell Test by opting to field on a grassy surface.
The hosts began well courtesy Shami, who had Gayle edge one to Rohit Sharma at point. The southpaw, playing from the backfoot, was undone by the bounce and pace generated by the in-form speedster.
Powell and Bravo gave the innings momentum with a 61-run partnership. Powell was agrressive in his approach and was not afraid to use his feet against spin while Bravo delighted the crowd with some classy shots.
The West Indies could have lost more wickets had Ashwin not dropped Powell when he was batting on 21. Bhuvneshwar Kumar induced an adge with his usual away swinging ball but Ashwin could not hold on to it at second slip.
The Indian off-spinner somewhat compensated for the slip-up by removing Bravo with one that turned and bounced before reaching Dhoni’s gloves.
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