Ashwin (6/47), Sehwag (55) put hosts on course; India 152/2 at stumps
New Delhi: India had their nose ahead after they safely negotiated the West Indies bowlers on a tricky pitch to move to 152 for two and inch closer to the victory target of 276 in the first cricket Test here on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin had vindicated his selection into the Test side with a five-for on debut, before Virender Sehwag (55 off 55 balls) provided the impetus to India’s innings with a typically aggressive knock, to leave the hosts within 124 runs from a victory on the third day.
At stumps, a resolute Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were batting on 30 and 33 respectively. The duo’s unbroken third-wicket partnership has yielded 57 runs so far.
After Aswhin helped the hosts bowl out the visitors for a paltry 180 in their second innings, Sehwag along with Gautam Gambhir (22 off 32) started the chase in right earnest, putting on 51 runs in less than 10 overs. During his 80-minute stay at the crease, Sehwag delighted a turnout of 14,422 as well as he can with his pyrotechnics.
Earlier, inspired by Pragyan Ojha’s first-innings performance, Ashwin stole the limelight through some smart spin bowling on a treacherous Feroz Shah Kotla track where 27 wickets have gone down in the last two days. In the process, Ashwin became the seventh Indian to begin his Test career with a five-for, and his match haul nine for 128 is also the second-best for an Indian on debut behind Narendra Hirwani’s 16 for 136, incidentally, against the same opponents, on an underprepared Chennai track back in 1988. (PTI)