Pragyan Ojha struck twice as India enjoyed the upperhand in the first session, leaving West Indies on 69 for two at lunch on day one of the first Test on Sunday.
Published: Nov 06, 2011, 11:58 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 06, 2011, 11:58 AM (IST)
India spinner Pragyan Ojha(c) celebrates the wicket of Kieran Powell during the first Test against West Indies at New Delhi © AFP
New Delhi: Nov 6, 2011
Pragyan Ojha struck twice as India enjoyed the upperhand in the first session, leaving West Indies on 69 for two at lunch on day one of the first Test on Sunday.
Opting to bat after the coin landed in West Indies skipper Darren Sammy’s favour, opener Kraigg Brathwaite was batting on 29 off 94 balls while Darren Bravo, coming off a big a hundred in his last Test against Bangladesh, was unbeaten on 10 off 19 at the lunch break.
Left-arm spinner Ojha, playing Test cricket after almost a year since New Zealand’s tour of India, had Kieran Powell trapped in front with a turning delivery in his second over, and the innings’ 12th.
Ojha then had Kirk Edwards, on a high after slamming a century and a fifty against Bangladesh, caught and bowled with the one that stopped at the batsman. The right-hander pressed forward, looking for the drive but was a touch early into the shot.
The spinner, in the process, made amends for dropping a sitter off his own bowling, the batsman being Powell, in his first over, with the scoreboard reading 25 for no loss.
The goof-up, however, didn’t matter much as Powell could not add a run to the total.
Ojha had figures of two for 14 from 10 overs at lunch.
On a pitch that hardly offered any sort of assistance to the quick bowlers, both Ishant Sharma and debutant Umesh Yadav, who was preferred over Varun Aaron, struggled to create an impression.
While Ishant bowled within himself, conceding 18 runs in his first spell of seven overs, Yadav was guilty of not pitching the ball up to the batsman.
It was therefore no surprise when skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni replaced Yadav with Ojha in the 10th over.
The Hyderabad bowler immediately made an impression, luring the batsmen to go for drives, and at the same time extracting sharp turn from a Feroz Shah Kotla wicket, which seems have to something for the spinners.
It didn’t take long before another debutant, off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin was handed the ball, in the 15th over, replacing pace spearhead Sharma.
The 26-year-old Chennai lad is yet to get a wicket but is expected to play a vital role along with Ojha as the match progresses.(PTI)
Brief Scores West Indies 69 for 2 (Kraigg Brathwaite 29* Kirk Edwards 15*; Pragyan Ojha 2 for 14) vs India
