IND 500/9 declWI 196, 388/6 (104.0 Ovs)
Match drawn
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Roston Chase
Stone the crows! Who would have thought, who...who? Let's be really honest. When West Indies were crumbling, with 48/4, most of the fans in Jamaica would have shut shop and could have been busy humming Bob Marley's classics. But one of his lyrics, I'm pretty sure, must have inspired the West Indies team today i.e., "Get up stand up: stand up for your rights!....Get up stand up: don't give up the fight!" A fight that will find a place in the Caribbean history books with Roston Chase claiming the hero role. What bravado, what spirit! Doff your hats off wherever you are. That is also a conclusion of this Test match, still two to go in the series. Next one's starting on Tuesday, the 9th of August. Lickle more (which means goodbye in Jamaica)...See you in St. Lucia...
Roston Chase - The proud recipient of the Man of the Match award. Poses for the cameras alongside Pujara, Kohli, Holder, Wavell Hinds. All smiles around...
"It was a great feeling. I could help my side draw a Test match. A fifer and a hundred, I couldn't have asked for any better. I'm equally capable of batting and bowling but I enjoy my batting more. It's a nice feeling, I know it's a crucial game and just keep learning with every day. The captain asked us to show some fight. We just fought hard till the end, Dowrich unfortunately fell short. I'm happy with the draw but I would have liked a win," Roston Lamar Chase who seems to have never-say-die attitude and jeez! He's so humble in his speech.
"Testing. That's what Test cricket is all about. Have to give credit to West Indies the way they played. You require someone to step up in these occasions and Roston just did that for West Indies. Our bowlers tried their best, unfortunately couldn't get through. The hardness of the ball was a factor on day 5. You needed to be a bit more patient on day 5. The idea was to get a wicket somehow, somewhere, because they were playing for a draw. West Indies batted really well. We gave our best shot even after tea. If you have 5 bowlers, if they have tried everything and the opposition plays well for a couple of sessions, you just have to take your hat off and say well played. Because we had the luxury of runs we went attacking throughout the day. This is one thing we have learned for the future. 300-run lead and we could have definitely gone a bit more attacking. We know Jinks (Rahane) is a quality player and he's such a important player overseas. Even KL Rahul played very well. He either gets single-digit scores or three-digit-scores (lets out a broad cheeky grin). He has come as a replacement for Vijay and he took the opportunity with both hands," concedes Virat Kohli.
"Guys really improved a lot. Really enjoyed the performance. The guys have showed some fight and I asked them to bat over by over. Blackwood was brilliant with Chase and that's where it all started for us. Wickets were hard to come by. The Indians were really tough. To get them out you need a lot of patience. The bowlers really stuck to the plans and we tried not giving anything away and make it difficult for them. It's just outstanding. I asked the guys to show fight and some character. Roston to bat like that all day was phenomenal. The crowd have turned in for the last session and I'm sure all of Jamaica must have enjoyed. Just remain patient and work hard and success will follow," chirps a spirited Jason Holder.
And here's our numbers-guru who feeds a fitting stat:
This is the 1st instance of no. 5, 6, 7 and 8 scoring 60+ in the same innings of a Test.
Stumps, Day 5:
A perfect humdinger, an excellent exhibition for the game and just what this battered Windies side needed. Written off until a few hours ago, they've unearthed a new hero for themselves. Mind you, by no means was this a block-a-thon, never for a moment did they shut shop, never for a moment did it look like they would.
Led by Roston Chase, who has had the Test match of his life, they played their normal game all through tiring out the Indian bowlers, who tried out every plan they could possibly have come up with, but to no avail. To get Kohli to concede an early defeat indicates the kind of dominance the batsmen have had on a day, which we all assumed had no business of going on for so long. Well, along with the Indian bowlers, the history books too have been shattered.
Nudge nudge, this is the first draw at the Sabina Park since 1998, in the times of 4-day tests, a no mean achievement .
16:25 Local Time, 21:25 GMT, 02:55 IST:
Woopsy daisy! And here we go. The captains shake hands meaning this Test match ends in a draw. Virat Kohli doesn't look too pleased as he leads his troops off the field.
Must say, the bowlers have tried everything but just that they were undone by some terrific display of batting from Roston Chase, ably assisted by Blackwood, Dowrich and Holder. Roston Chase is greeted by a great round of applause from players of both teams. Plenty of pats on the back.
A few of the spectators jump and holler across the seats as they acclaim the fight put in by the West Indies and Chase in particular. Some of them slide around the ad-boards to get a glimpse of him and Chase doesn't disappoint. Waves his hands and obliges for handshakes.
