Rahul stamps his authority as India wrest control
Kingston, Jamaica, by Vishaal Loganathan •
Last updated on Monday, 01 August, 2016, 04:30 AM
Rahul slammed his third Test ton and as many outside India © AFP
"Ice creams are only for the big games. No ice cream for small games," the lady at the stall said.
"This is not a big game?"
"No, no. You get ice creams for T20s."
Given that roughly half a thousand people turned up for the second day's play of the second Test between India and West Indies, it's hard to argue with the lady's logic. Maybe this wasn't a big game for the stalls at the stadium, but the home team put in a shift that made it look like this wasn't a big game for them either.
Having been bowled out for 196 on Day 1, the West Indies bowlers could do little to stop the Indian juggernaut on Day 2 as India, buoyed by a superb 158 from KL Rahul, pressed home the advantage. Rahul put on a 121-run stand with Cheteshwar Pujara and added 69 runs alongside Virat Kohli to help India amass a solid lead.
Day 1 at Sabina Park had seen a sizeable crowd in. But West Indies' performance drove the masses away on Day 2. With almost nothing to cheer for, who can blame them?
Resuming the day at 126/1, still 70 runs behind West Indies's total of 196, India started Day 2 on a cautious note. Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder kept things tight in the first hour, bowling mostly short and wide of off and inviting India to take the risk to score. As a result, India just scored 22 runs in the first hour, with Pujara only getting off the mark off the last ball before drinks. He took 35 balls to move from his overnight score of 18.
India got a move on in the second hour. Pujara and Rahul picked off Roston Chase for easy singles, and when the part-timer over pitched, Rahul dispatched the ball to the fence. Chase operated with a predominantly leg-stump line, with three close-in fielders, but the batmsen were well-set and did not succumb to the ploy.
Rahul brought up his hundred with a mighty six off Chase. It was his third hundred in his sixth Test, with all three coming outside India. The knock also adds some headachewith team selection for the Indians, but the issue of too many in-form batsmen will be one they will gladly accept. The point was further underlined when Murali Vijay was among the first players to walk out and congratulate Rahul as he returned to the pavillion at Lunch.
The fans, seated to the left of the Courtney Walsh end, started to find their voice as their team piled the misery on the hosts. Rahul started going down the track to the spinners and hitting them over the top while Pujara was more proactive between the stumps, taking quick singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard ticking.
However, running between the wickets was never going to be Pujara's strong point, and it proved to be his undoing.
His wicket was the only one to fall in the second session of the day's play but that brought out a loud cheer amongst the smattering of India supporters at Sabina Park. Kohli, the fan favourite, was the next man in.
Chants of 'Kohli, Kohli' started ringing as the Indian Test captain walked out to the middle.
Pujara had just thrown his wicket away, having put in the hard yards. He had scored 46 off 158 balls, before clipping one straight to Roston Chase square leg and setting off for a non-existent single. Chase threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end, Pujara threw himself towards the crease, but was caught short. The batsman had set himself for a big knock, too, but perished for an ill-judged single. Once he was dismissed, he lay sprawled on the ground, with his head down, for several seconds. The pressure on him to hold on to his place, especially with Rahul scoring a big hundred, would have increased considerably now.
The session otherwise followed a similar script, as the Indians, although not at their fluent best, proceeded towards near-complete control.
With India in such a dominant position, the small section of Indian supporters continued to make merry. Every catch Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took during their short fielding session at Tea was cheered on vociferously by the fans. It was quite apparent the jovial state the team, and its fans were in.
The third session started badly for the home side. They took the new ball at the start, but lost Miguel Cummins to a hamstring strain soon after. With the Indians looking to push their advantage in the final session, West Indies managed more wickets. Kohli, once again, looked in ominous touch, smashing Bishoo for a six and two fours in one over, before Rajendra Chandrika pulled off a smart catch at forward short-leg to dismiss the Indian captain for 44.
Rahul edged a ball down the leg side and after much deliberation from the third umpire, was rightly ruled out, while R Ashwin was trapped LBW for three. India, however, had gone past the 320-mark by then and their lead had swelled past 130.
Earlier in the day, Ajinkya Rahane had hit the nets with more than one hour to go for start of play. The right-hander seemed intent on coming good today, after he was out to a horror shot in Antigua, and spent some quality time facing throwdowns. The hard work paid off as he hit a brisk 42 and remained unbeaten, along with Saha at the end of the day's play. India had tightened their hold on the game with a 162-run lead at the end of the day.
Hopefully, there will be ice creams during Tests at Sabina Park again, but there needs to be a revival of sorts from the West Indies for that to happen. Starting tomorrow.
© Cricbuzz
