Team India came out all guns blazing on Day 4 of the ongoing Test match against the West Indies. Mohammed Siraj first led the way with a five-wicket haul that bundled out West Indies for 255 runs in their first innings. This handed the visitors a significant 183-run lead. After this, India’s opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma set the tone with a remarkable 98-run partnership in just 71 balls. In the process, captain Rohit Sharma achieved his fastest-ever Test fifty.
West Indies got some respite after a shoddy start as they dismissed both the Indian openers in successive overs. However, wanting to keep attacking India promoted Ishan Kishan ahead of Virat Kohli at the number 4 position. The wicket-keeper batter made his Test debut in the last match and this was his chance to finally have some impact on the game with the bat.
Ishan, batting at No.4 instead of the 34-year-old Kohli, displayed a scintillating knock, scoring his maiden half-century in just 34 balls. India declared their second innings at an impressive 181 for two.
When the day ended, Ishan acknowledged the significance of his half-century and how Virat Kohli played a crucial role in asking him to play his natural game.
‘Kohli backed me’
“Virat backed me and told me 'go and play your game'. Let us hope we will finish the game tomorrow. It was Virat bhai who took the initiative and told me that I should go in. There was a slow left-armer who was bowling. It was a good call for the team. Sometimes you need to take these calls," said Kishan after the day's play.
India set a daunting target of 365 runs for West Indies, who finished Day 4 at 76 for two as R Ashwin proved to be the main threat again with 2 wickets so far. The hosts still need 289 runs on the final day.
