Wobble trouble: Siraj’s 4-for demolishes West Indies top-order as India skittle visitors for 162

Synopsis

India asserted dominance on day one of their home Test against West Indies, bowling them out for a paltry 162. Mohammed Siraj was the star performer, claiming 4/40 with his effective wobble seam delivery. In reply, India reached 121/2 at stumps, with KL Rahul unbeaten on 53, trailing by just 41 runs.

India played their first home Test match with Apollo Tyres as their principal sponsor, and the newest supporter uses the tagline ‘Go the Distance’.

That may well suit the tyres they manufacture, but West Indies did not quite get the memo, being shot out for only 162, and even with a 22-minute break for rain, it seemed extremely unlikely that this game would last the full five days.

In only their last Test match, against Australia, in Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies imploded to 27 all out. In comparison, they certainly lifted themselves, but, as Jomel Warrican, the vice-captain, put it at the end of the day, they were definitely short of the runs needed to put India under any serious pressure. At 121 for 2, India were on the verge of wiping out the first-innings deficit.

Warrican also explained that the team chose to bat first even after assessing the conditions — a pitch that assisted seam bowling and cloud cover hanging over the Narendra Modi Stadium — because they expected a lot of turn as the game wore on and did not want to bat last.

If Shubman Gill, fresh at the crease, and KL Rahul, batting on 53, have any say in the matter, West Indies could still be batting last, even if not fourth.

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It was Mohammed Siraj who had the most fun among the bowlers, picking up 4 for 40. Siraj, having enjoyed three weeks away from the game after the arduous England tour, returned to work on his fitness as a recharged man. When he played for India A against Australia A in Lucknow ahead of this series, Siraj’s rhythm was intact.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the first to feel the pinch as a ball that was slipping down leg lifted just enough to catch the glove on the way to the wicketkeeper. Brandon King made the fatal mistake of not picking the wobble seam ball from Siraj, shouldering arms. The ball was not wide enough for the leave, and when it came back in, just as the bowler envisioned and crashed into the stumps, Siraj’s cup of joy bubbled over.

Alick Athanaze edged to slip, and Roston Chase, the captain, got an absolute peach. The ball appeared to be coming in but left the bat after pitching, and Dhruv Jurel temporarily foxed just like the batsman, recovered sufficiently to pouch the catch. “In 2018, when I lost my inswinger, I tried tilting the seam in and delivering the ball. I came to know later that this is being called the wobble seam ball, but it’s got me a lot of success in international cricket,” explained Siraj. “With the wobble seam, the attempt is to bring the ball back in to the right hander, but sometimes it lands and goes away.”

Siraj’s ability to move the ball both ways off the pitch was just too much for the West Indies, and at the other end, the bowling was no less penetrative. Jasprit Bumrah took his foot off the pedal briefly when there was still a chance for Siraj to pick up his fifth, but before that, he had produced a succession of excellent yorkers, two of which knocked the stumps out.

When it was India’s turn to bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul began with determination, not trying anything too fancy. Jaiswal, in particular, took his time to get going, but there was nothing tentative about either of the openers. Jaiswal, as always, was easy on the eye, and when spin came into the attack, it was the signal for him to play some big shots. The sudden flow of runs possibly got to Jaiswal, who tried to cut a delivery that was not wide enough for the shot and bounced a touch extra to nick to the keeper.

B Sai Sudarshan, attempting to do more to make the No. 3 spot his own, was less than convincing in his brief stay at the crease. When he attempted a big pull to a delivery from Chase that was not quite short enough and missed, the umpire had an easy decision in giving the batsman out LBW.

When stumps were drawn, India were in a strong position, with plenty of batting yet to come. The presence of Nitish Reddy at No. 8 meant that there was plenty of depth on offer. How much West Indies will test this remains to be seen.

BRIEF SCORES: West Indies 162 (Greaves 32, Hope 26, Chase 24; Siraj 4/40, Bumrah 3/42, Kuldeep 2/25, Washington 1/9) lead India 121/2 (Rahul 53*, Jaiswal 36, Gill 18*, Sudharsan 7; Chase 1/16, Seales1/21) by 41 runs

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