KINGSTON, Jamaica: Roston Chase made history with a maiden Test century to lead a magnificent rearguard by the West Indies and salvage a draw at 388 for six in their second innings on the final day of the second Test against India at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Wednesday.
In just his second Test, the 24-year-old Barbadian batted through the entire day to finish unbeaten on 137, an innings that occupied six hours during which he faced 269 balls, striking 15 fours and one six.
His outstanding effort complemented a five-wicket haul in India’s only innings, making him just the fourth West Indian and first since the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers 50 years earlier to complete the rare feat of century and a five-wicket innings haul in the same Test match.
“It’s a great feeling to help my team draw the match after falling so far behind,” said Chase after receiving the Man of the Match award. “The captain asked the players to show some fight and we just went with the mindset that we were at war and we can’t die today.”
He received excellent support from all the other middle and lower-order batsmen who featured in the protracted fight back on the last day. Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich and captain Jason Holder contributed half-centuries to a cause that seemed lost when they started the final day, with the innings in apparent ruins at 48 for four and needing to get to 304 to avoid a second innings defeat in as many matches.
India still held out hope of taking the last four wickets in the final session and chasing a modest target to win the match, but Holder’s stroke-filled unbeaten 64 in an unbroken 104-run partnership with Chase killed off their chances and the captains agreed to call off the match half an hour before the scheduled close.
“We lost most of yesterday but that’s no excuse,” said India’s disappointed captain Virat Kohli after the skippers’ handshake. “Credit to the way the West Indies played today. Our bowlers tried hard but you just have to doff your hat to them.”
It was the first time in the 88-year history of the West Indies in Test cricket that batsmen from numbers four to eight in the batting order had each scored over 50 in a single Test innings.
SCOREBOARD
West Indies (first innings): 196
India (first innings): 500 for 9 decl.
West Indies (second innings):
K. Brathwaite c Rahul b Mishra 23
R. Chandrika b Sharma 1
D. Bravo c Rahul b Shami 20
M. Samuels b Shami 0
J. Blackwood c Pujara b Ashwin 63
R. Chase not out 137
S. Dowrich lbw Mishra 74
J. Holder not out 64
Extras: 6
Total: (for 6 wkts): 388
Fall of wkts: 1-5, 2-41, 3-41, 4-48, 5-141, 6-285.
Bowling: Ishant Sharma 18-3-56-1 (2nb), Mohammed Shami 19-3-82-2, Amit Mishra 25-6-90-2 (1nb), Umesh Yadav 12-2-44-0 (1w), Ravichandran Ashwin 30-4-114-1.
Chase century as Windies thwart India
Chase century as Windies thwart India
