Maintaining their legacy in the longest format of the game, India thrashed West Indies by 257 runs in the second Test to clinch the series 2-0 on Monday.
With this win, India has won the two-match series 2-0 and they have moved to the top of World Test Championship standings with 120 points. This win is the eighth consecutive series victory for India over Windies.
In-form India batsmen Ajinkya Rahane (64*) and Hanuma Vihari (53*) struck unbeaten half-centuries to set a mammoth 468-run target for the hosts. Later in the second innings, Ravindra Jadeja (3/58) and Mohammed Shami (3/65) took three wickets apiece to bowl them out for 210 in 59.5 overs.
The Windies were never likely to gun the daunting target down and in their second essay, only overnight batsman Shamarh Brooks managed a 50 off 119 balls before Kohli had him run out.
Fellow overnight batter Darren Bravo had to go off the field as he was feeling unwell just three overs into the day’s play. He was retired hurt on 23. Initially, Roston Chase came in to bat but later Bravo was replaced by Jermaine Blackwood as concussion substitute as he was unbeaten on 33 at lunch.
Bravo had copped a blow to the side of his helmet from a Bumrah bouncer in the last over on Day 3. Blackwood was originally not a part of the West Indies squad for the second Test, but with the ICC regulations allowing a like-for-like replacement, he was called into action.
It was a unique case where 12 men batted in a Test innings with Chase being trapped in front by Ravindra Jadeja for 12. Shimron Hetmyer did not last long, Ishant Sharma having him caught at extra cover by Mayank Agarwal as the Windies slumped to 98/4 before Brooks and Blackwood joined hands for a 61-run stand.
After lunch, Bumrah got rid of Blackwood to pick up his only wicket in this innings. From there on, it was only a matter of time despite skipper Jason Holder scoring 39 before Jadeja castled him to cap off the marauding victory.
In the first innings, India had put up 416 riding Hanuma Vihari’s maiden hundred (111) and skipper Virat Kohli’s 76. Pacer Ishant Sharma (57) had also scored his first fifty.
In reply, West Indies were no match to Jasprit Bumrah’s onslaught as the world-class pacer returned magical figures of 6/27 which included a hattrick as he became only the third Indian bowler to get the treble in Test cricket after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan.
With a 299-run lead, India decided not to enforce follow on and batted instead.
