Quicks seal India's incredible series win
Sun, Aug 14, '16
On Thursday, the third day of the St Lucia Test, India saw rain wash a whole day's play out, with runs having been scored at about 2.5 an over on the first two days, with the bowlers' last memory of having taken a wicket 79.2 overs ago. By the end of the play on Saturday, the fifth day, India had taken 17 wickets in 63.5 overs to complete an incredible Test and series win, a win borne as much out of belief and intent as out of West Indies' lack of resistance after what hopefully wasn't a false down in Jamaica.
India began day five believing they could still win; West Indies did nothing to make India doubt it. After Bhuvneshwar Kumar's swing masterclass left India 285 in lead at the end of the fourth day, India quickly ran away to 60 runs in nine overs to leave West Indies with no chance of winning and 87 overs to survive. That was a big difference between Jamaica and St Lucia: there one counterattack put the hosts within sight of parity and gave them direction, here they didn't know where to go. Feet stopped moving, brains got muddled, plans went absent, and India stayed relentless. The victory, the first time India won two Tests in a series outside Asia since 2005 and the first time ever in the West Indies, arrived before tea.
