Not for the first time in this series, rain washed away a large chunk of Day 1 of the fourth Test in Trinidad on Thursday. West Indies, who won the toss and elected to bat first, were 62/2 when play was called off. Kraigg Brathwaite (32 not out) dropped anchor at one end with the aggressive Indian bowlers posing difficult questions. Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket each for India.
India have to win the Test to hold on to the No.1 spot in the Test rankings, a landmark they achieved a few days ago. There was a signal of intent from the bowlers straightaway, and Mohammed Shami nearly got the first breakthrough when he squared up Brathwaite. Virat Kohli got his fingertips to it from second slip but failed to grasp the half-chance.
Ishant Sharma was brought in as first change and struck with his first delivery of the game. Leon Johnson awkwardly fended a ball that was short of a length, angled at his rib cage; Rohit Sharma dived forward to pouch it.
Darren Bravo looked in solid touch and struck a couple of handsome boundaries after arriving at the crease. Spin was brought on in the form of Ashwin and the southpaw continued to be on the offensive by lofting the off-spinner over mid-on for a boundary. The wily Ashwin got the better of Bravo by getting the ball to drift slightly away from the batsman; the ball breached the batsman's defense and clipped the off-stump.
With minutes away for lunch, the clouds opened up. Play was called off by 2:00 pm local time.
Brief scores:
West Indies 62/2 (Kraigg Brathwaite 32 not out; Ishant Sharma 1 for 7) vs India