West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite scored 75 on a lifeless Port of Spain wicket on Saturday as the determined hosts batted through the rain-hit third day of their second test against India to reach 229-5.
Having resumed on 86-1, Brathwaite showed plenty of patience to bring up his 29th test half-century off 170 balls after lunch was taken early due to rain and largely kept India’s bowlers at bay before being bowled by a superb Ravichandran Ashwin delivery.
At stumps, West Indies were 209 runs behind India’s total of 438 but had Alick Athanaze (37 not out) and Jason Holder (11 not out) at the crease as they bid to eke out a draw after losing the opener of the two-match series.
Fast bowler Mukesh Kumar bagged his first wicket for India on his debut in the morning by having Kirk McKenzie caught by wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan for a well-made 32 off 57 balls.
A spectacular catch by Ajinkya Rahane at slip dismissed Jermaine Blackwood for 20, before wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva fell to Mohammed Siraj for 10.
But it was a day of toil for the Indian bowlers on a flat wicket where the hosts took their time to get going, scoring at a little over two runs an over before bad light forced play to be stopped early after more showers in the final session.
“I think the first session (on Sunday) will be important,” said India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
“To see the way we swung the ball in the last session right now, both Siraj and Mukesh came in, swung the ball and troubled the batters and there were a couple of close calls out there.
“If we pick up a couple of wickets it opens up the match for us and we can take the game forward and see where we are. What we look for from the bowlers is to hit the right areas, show some patience and make the batters play.”
West Indies need only another 10 runs to avoid the follow on and force India to bat again.
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