West Indies were failing another trial by spin, losing both openers cheaply, to be stuttering at 27 for two in their second innings at tea on the third day of the first Test against India in Dominica on Friday.
After Rohit Sharma declared the tourists’ first innings closed at 421 for five, first day destroyers Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja wasted little time in adding to that first innings success to leave the home side facing the prospect of a massive defeat as they still need another 244 runs just to make India bat again.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul fell leg-before to Jadeja while captain Kraigg Brathwaite could not cope with Ashwin’s notorious carom ball and edged a straightforward catch to Ajinkya Rahane at slip.
Raymon Reifer and Jermaine Blackwood will resume in the final session for the West Indies in what feels more like an ever-tightening state of siege than the platform for legendary resistance.
His demise minutes before the interval marked another low point on a forgettable day for Brathwaite, who was dropped on nought before Ashwin put him out of his misery. He had missed a straightforward chance at short extra-cover in the morning offered by Virat Kohli off left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican.
Dropped at 40, Kohli went on to get 76 before falling to Rahkeem Cornwall just after lunch. The burly off-spinner was only allowed to bowl after the morning period because of time spent off the field on the first day when he was unwell.
Earlier, West Indies finally prised out debutant century-maker Yashasvi Jaiswal and added the wicket of Rahane pre-lunch.
Getting to 171 off 387 deliveries in more than eight hours in the middle, Jaiswal was undone by the extra pace and bounce extracted by fast bowler Alzarri Joseph in edging a catch to wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva.
Senior seamer Kemar Roach then accounted for vice-captain Rahane who mistimed a drive to Blackwood at extra-cover.
