In Stats: India’s Surprise Line-Up on Day One of 3rd Test vs WI

Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav were benched for Rohit Sharma, R Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Three changes that came as a surprise were Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav getting benched for Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja & Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo: AP) 

Hosts West Indies and India shared honours on the opening day of the third Test played at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in Gros Islet.

While the hosts bagged the early honours after they reduced the visitors to 126 for 5 mid-way through the day, India clawed their way back into the match through a resolute sixth wicket partnership between Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha.

India clawed their way back into the match through a resolute sixth wicket partnership between Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha. (Photo: AP)

Alzarri Joseph: First West Indian Teenager to Open Bowling on Test Debut

At the start of the match, both captains surprised with the changes they made to their respective sides. While it was always expected that the West Indies would go on with a new opening pair, the hosts also named the teenage pace sensation Alzarri Joseph on a pitch that offered plenty of pace and bounce.

Joseph, who starred in West Indies’ successful Under-19 World Cup campaign earlier this year, would become the 309th cricketer to represent West Indies in Test cricket.

Alzarri Joseph became the first teenager to open the bowling for West Indies on Test debut. (Photo: AP)

At the age of 19 years and 263 days, Joseph became the first teenager to open the bowling for West Indies on Test debut. In fact, he is only the second teenager ever to open the bowling for the West Indies – the recently retired Jerome Taylor was 19 years and 5 days when he opened the bowling against Sri Lanka at the Sabina Park in 2003.

(Photo Courtesy: Arun Gopalakrishnan)

The inclusion of Rohit Sharma at the expense of Pujara was an intriguing one. (Photo: AP) 

India Surprises Too; Rohit Sharma Included at Expense of Pujara

There were plenty of surprises in Indian XI too; while it was expected India would revert to the preferred opening pair of Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, they continued with KL Rahul and Dhawan at the top. But the three changes that came as a surprise were Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav getting benched for Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The inclusion of Rohit Sharma at the expense of Pujara is an intriguing one. The latter is among India’s few Test specialists, and at a time when Test cricket is fighting for survival, one wonders what message it sends out to young cricketers around the country in general and Pujara in particular.

Isn’t time the essence of Test cricket? Is it not about playing sessions and wearing down bowlers?

To accommodate Rohit Sharma, skipper Virat Kohli had to climb up one position and bat at number three. (Photo: AP)

That decision to include Rohit Sharma in the XI has to be questioned for more reasons than one. First, because Pujara did nothing wrong in the previous Test that warranted him to be dropped.

While it was not his most fluent innings, Pujara certainly did the job a one-drop batsman is expected to do – he scored 46, batted for 223 minutes and faced 159 balls.

Further, Rohit Sharma hasn’t been too convincing in the opportunities he has got so far; he has been accommodated in the XI in the past and has been given the opportunity to bat at various positions.

Yet he has not delivered the goods. In the 17 Test matches he has played so far, nearly half his dismissals have been for single-digit scores. On Tuesday, he was dismissed for 9 – fishing for one on the fifth or sixth stumps and edging to the wicket-keeper.

(Photo Courtesy: Arun Gopalakrishnan)

Possibly in order to accommodate Rohit Sharma, the skipper Virat Kohli – the best batsman in the Indian team – had to climb up one position and bat at number three.

A look back at Virat’s previous scores while batting at number three illustrates that he hasn’t had too much success while batting at one-drop; in four previous innings at number three, Virat had a highest score of 41.

(Photo Courtesy: Arun Gopalakrishnan)

Why then would the Indian team management tinker to the extent of unsettling the team’s best batsman, especially when he averages nearly 51 batting at number four – a position he’d made his own since it was vacated by Sachin Tendulkar three years ago.

(Photo Courtesy: Arun Gopalakrishnan)