Shami, Mishra break through stodgy batting

By our correspondents

July 24, 2016

ST JOHN’S, Antigua: Kraigg Brathwaite and nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo frustrated India on a docile track for 16 overs before Amit Mishra and Mohammed Shami gave India two wickets in the morning session of the third day of the Antigua Test here on Saturday.

Patience had been the buzzword leading into the series, and against a stodgy batting line-up on a flat pitch, the India bowlers were in for a test of their patience. Brathwaite was at the forefront of the resistance, facing 91 balls in the session that produced just 59 runs. Scoring runs wasn’t high on agenda anyway.

The partnership between Brathwaite and Bishoo wasn’t without incident, though. When Brathwaite was attacked with a forward and backward short leg, Brathwaite failed to keep the balls angled into his ribs down on at least three occasions, but managed to avoid the fielders. Bishoo’s outside edge was beaten at least seven times. It would have frustrated India all the more that Bishoo faced only 15 balls in the first eight overs of the morning.

Kohli chose to begin attacking with his quicks, who created opportunity but were guilty of not building up an offensive for long enough, releasing pressure with easy deliveries on the pads. Mohammed Shami, who had taken a wicket on day two, and Umesh Yadav were particularly generous on the pads although Shami was desperately unlucky in not drawing an edge from Bishoo or having Brathwaite caught in his morning spell of 6-1-16-0.

A measure of difficulty of taking 20 wickets against a patient batting unit was that one of the two wickets of the session eventually came when Bishoo played an impatient sweep shot and dragged his foot over to be stumped off the bowling of Mishra, who was introduced before R Ashwin on the second morning.

The early jitters out of the way, Brathwaite dug in for the kind of innings he is known for. He looked the most unsettled in the fifth over of the day when he tucked Shami slightly wide of short square leg, followed by a waft at a wide delivery when the edge flew over slip. That was the last mistake he made. Bowling outside off to him, if not a long half-volley, was a waste of energy running all the way and banging the ball in. He left alone 45 of the 141 balls he played.

When Brathwaite tucked Yadav away for a couple, the fourth leg-side offering in the 30th over, he had faced 100 balls for his 35 runs, 8.44 under his career strike rate. Only against Ashwin did Brathwaite go out of his way to score runs; the idea must have been to not let Ashwin settle to a rhythm when he can be lethal. Having faced 14 dots after the 100th, Brathwaite jumped out of his crease and swatted Ashwin through wide mid-on for four.

Darren Bravo, though, didn’t show the discipline of Brathwaite. With India getting restless and changing bowlers at the non-Ashwin end every two overs, Bravo flirted with a wide delivery from the returning Shami five minutes before lunch. The ball did bounce more than expected to take the edge, but Bravo had played with an angled bat with his feet stuck on the leg stump.

Score Board

India won toss

India 1st innings

M Vijay c K Brathwaite b Gabriel 7

S Dhawan lbw b Bishoo 84

C A Pujara c K Brathwaite b Bishoo 16

*V Kohli b Gabriel 200

A M Rahane c Bravo b Bishoo 22

R Ashwin c Gabriel b K Brathwaite 113

†W P Saha st Dowrich b K Brathwaite 40

A Mishra c Holder b K Brathwaite 53

M Shami not out 17