Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

World No. 1 India crush Windies to make it 10 in a row!

October 14, 2018 20:38 IST

India demolished West Indies by 10 wickets to complete a 2-0 series sweep and also register their 10th series win in a row at home.

Team India

IMAGE: India's players celebrate after winning the Test series 2-0. Photograph: PTI

A clinical India completed one of the most ruthless clean sweeps in recent times, demolishing a listless West Indies by 10 wickets in the second Test, inside three days, to clinch the series 2-0 on Sunday.

Umesh Yadav's maiden 10-wicket haul, including six for 88 and four for 45, on a decent track was the highlight as India reached the meagre victory target of 72 in 16.1 overs to finish the Test inside three days, courtesy of openers Prithvi Shaw (33) and KL Rahul (33).

 

West Indies were back to their worst despite showing signs of fight in the first innings as they couldn't last two full sessions and were bowled out for 127 in only 46.1 in their second innings.

Out of the four innings in this series, West Indies couldn't cross the 200-run mark thrice which was a testimony to their plight during the series.

For World No. 1 India, it was their 10th series win in a row at home. Their last defeat at home, came way back in 2012, against England, when they were beaten 1-2.

Virat Kohli's side did an encore of thhe 2013 series against the Windies which India won by an identical margin in that year's most lopsided contest with Sachin Tendulkar's farewell taking limelight.

The second innings started with Umesh on a split hat-trick but Kraigg Brathwaite (0) survived one delivery before falling off the next as he was caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant to fall without scoring.

Kieran Powell also perished for a duck as he was caught in the slips off Ravichandran Ashwin.

Umesh Yadav

IMAGE: Umesh Yadav became only the third Indian fast bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test match in India. Photograph: PTI

Shai Hope (28) hit three delightful boundaries off Umesh while Shimron Hetmeyer (17) was trying to be more assertive against spinners in their 39-run stand.

However, a rush of blood saw Hetmeyer give Kuldeep Yadav the charge only to get a thick outside edge and was caught by Cheteshwar Pujara at point.

From 45 for three, there was not much resistance as Hope was snapped when he played a Ravindra Jadeja delivery for the turn to give Rahane his second catch at slip.

West Indies' biggest hope Roston Chase (6) and Shane Dowrich (0) were both bowled off inside edges with Umesh getting the ball to swing in sharply.

Jason Holder (19) and Sunil Ambris (38) added 38 runs for the seventh wicket but once again the Windies failed to carry on as their captain was caught behind off Jadeja.

The day started on a bright for West Indies as they India for 367, keeping the first innings lead down to a mere 56 runs.

In the process, they denied Rishabh Pant (92) and Ajinkya Rahane (80) from completing their centuries.

In a space of 16.1 overs, India lost five wickets for 25 runs to move from a comfortable 314 for 4 to 339 for 9 before Ravichandran Ashwin (35) made a useful contribution and helped them take the lead.

West Indies captain Jason Holder used the second new ball to good effect as he completed his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Shannon Gabriel after erratic performance on the second day came back well to take three wickets.

Holder first got one to rear up from back of length as Rahane edged it to gully after he had put on 152 for the fifth wicket with Pant. Pant (92), who added seven more runs to his overnight score, got a short ball from Shannon Gabriel, which he pushed and was caught by Shimron Hetmeyer in the covers.

In two consecutive Tests, Pant has been dismissed for identical scores of 92. This time he played 134 balls hitting 11 boundaries and two sixes.

© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.