West Indies v India, 3rd Test, Gros Islet, Day 1 - Alzarri Joseph and Wriddhiman Saha were impressive

The ball which dismissed Virat Kohli was an absolute ripper! It landed on that corridor of uncertainty and then bounced to leave Kohli clueless. The pace of that delivery was sharp and those who watched that vicious ball, surely would have become nostalgic. Was the ball delivered by Marshall or Holding? No, but a young boy named Alzarri Joseph announced his arrival in international cricket by dishing out such an outstanding delivery against one of the best batsmen in the world.

I hope, now, you can understand why I rated Joseph so highly. He caught my attention during the Under-19 World Cup this year. Especially his aggressive intent reminded me of the glorious past. During the Under-19 World Cup, he was found wanting with his line and length. But yesterday, I could see, Joseph has worked on his line and length which was disciplined and at the same time, attacking.

I think, in the later part of the day, Jason Holder decided to contain runs, which was not the right idea when you have such aggressive bowlers under your belt. In the first-half of the day, Holder’s captaincy was good as hunted for wickets, but I am not sure why went defensive as the day progressed.

Ravi Ashwin was lucky to stay at the wicket. He was dropped on 26 and caught off a no ball on 35. It was not easy to bat out there and I think, dropping Murali Vijay and Pujara was not the best of ideas. India badly needed their application at the top order. But the much needed resolve was provided by the Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

46 off 122 balls by Saha might not please the fans of yo-yo generation, but in Test cricket such innings are valuable and I think, some of the top order batsmen must keep in mind, an admixture of caution and aggression is needed in Test cricket. You are not playing Twenty20 cricket. It’s Test cricket – the format of men and not school kids.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar