Ahmedabad Test: Siraj’s fiery spell puts West Indies on backfoot at Lunch
Ahmedabad: A sensational performance by the Indian bowlers, led by right-arm seamer Mohammed Siraj, saw the West Indies restricted to 90/5 in 23.2 overs at the end of the first session of the Ahmedabad Test at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.
Siraj was the star of the session, claiming three wickets for just 19 runs in his seven-over spell. At lunch on Day 1, Roston Chase remained unbeaten on 22 for the visitors.
West Indies skipper Roston Chase won the toss and opted to bat first. Openers John Campbell and Tagenarine Chanderpaul took the field, but the Caribbean side lost an early wicket, with Chanderpaul departing for a duck in the fourth over, dismissed by Siraj.
John Campbell and left-hander Alick Athanaze managed to add only eight runs before Campbell was sent back by Jasprit Bumrah on the first ball of the seventh over. Brandon King then joined the crease and scored 13 off 15 balls, showing some attacking intent, but was cleaned up by Siraj in the 10th over as the score reached 39.
Following the third wicket, skipper Roston Chase partnered with Athanaze, but their partnership yielded just three runs before Athanaze fell to Siraj in the 12th over. Wicketkeeper-batter Shai Hope joined Chase, helping the team reach the 50-run mark on the last ball of the 13th over with a boundary off Nitish Kumar Reddy.
However, the visitors lost their fifth wicket at 90 when Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Hope for 26 runs from 36 balls. At the close of the first session, West Indies had lost half their side for just 90 runs.
For India, aside from Siraj’s outstanding spell, Bumrah took 1/24 in 8 overs and Kuldeep claimed 1/7 in 1.4 overs.
Brief Scores: West Indies 90/5 in 23.2 overs (Shai Hope 26, Roston Chase 22; Mohammed Siraj 3/19*) vs India.
