Rain denies India a chance to secure 2-0 series victory

The rain played spoilsport once again at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain as the second Test between the West Indies and India ended in a draw, giving the Men in Blue a 1-0 series victory. Mohammed Siraj picked up his career-best figures while Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan laced half-centuries to set up the victory for India on day 4, but play was abandoned without a single ball bowled on day 5 in Trinidad to end the centennial Test between the two nations on a sombre note.

After the West Indies showed considerable resistance with the bat on day three, India pushed hard for a victory on the fourth morning as Mohammed Siraj surged through the hosts’ batting line-up with the second new ball, registering his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Mukesh Kumar dismissed Alick Athanaze to pick up the first scalp of the session before Mohammed Siraj wrapped up the West Indian tail, finding considerable movement with the new ball.

The pacer had Jason Holder and Kemar Roach nicking off to deliveries that swung away, while Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel fell to in-dippers that struck the pads. The final five wickets cost the Men in Blue just 26 runs on day four, bowling the West Indies out for 255 to give India a lead of 183.

Keeping in mind the bleak forecast, India grew their advantage to 364 in just 24 overs, with the openers and Ishan Kishan going hell for leather. Rohit Sharma smashed his fastest half-century in Test cricket, taking 35 deliveries to score his third consecutive fifty-plus score of the series, while Jaiswal showed aggression from the outset. Earning a surprise promotion to number four, Ishan Kishan also brought up his maiden Test fifty in just 33 balls before Rohit Sharma declared, setting the West Indies a target of 365.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kraig Brathwaite got off to a solid start in the hosts’ chase, but Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice before bad light ended play, removing the captain and Kirk McKenzie off consecutive overs. The visitors needed eight more wickets on the final day to complete a clean sweep in the series, but persistent showers and a wet outfield meant that play was abandoned without a single delivery bowled, sharing the spoils and giving both sides equal points in the World Test Championship table