Antigua - It took more than four sessions coming, but once R Ashwin found his rhythm he ran through the West Indies batting to take India close to their first innings win in the West Indies.
Just after lunch on day four, with India needing eight wickets to finish the match, Ashwin found the dip and drift and cut out on the loose balls to earn himself a five-for and a hundred in the same Test for a second time, more than any Indian. West Indies, as in the first innings, couldn't offer much resistance, except for the unbeaten ninth-wicket partnership between Carlos Brathwaite and Devendra Bishoo, which pushed the match into the final session of the fourth day.
Before Ashwin struck, Marlon Samuels and Rajendra Chandrika had managed to hold India up for 22 overs, which did frustrate India a little, not entirely of its own volition. After Umesh Yadav had removed Darren Bravo in the first over of the morning - a repeat feeble push to a wide delivery from the first innings - an umpiring decision got India's goat. In his first over of the morning, Mohammed Shami hit Samuels' glove and offered a low chance to Wriddhiman Saha's left, which the wicketkeeper claimed immediately.
Coach Anil Kumble, watching from the balcony, lifted his finger after the first replay. However, the replays - understandably not enough angles or quality for financial reasons - didn't return a verdict beyond reasonable doubt nor was there a soft signal made by the on-field umpires. So the benefit of the doubt went to Samuels. His bat obscured the front-on replay somewhat, and there was nothing else to go by. No zoomer was used. The third umpire erred on the side of caution.
Virat Kohli wasn't amused. He was seen in an animated conversation with Ian Gould, with whom he wasn't too happy on day two either when the latter's conversation on a walkie-talkie denied India an extra over before stumps. Kumble didn't look impressed either. Soon rain arrived, 40 minutes before lunch, and several players walked straight to a laptop and sat huddled around it, watching it from different angles.
Thankfully calm presided with Chandrika defending sedately and Samuels hitting smoothly. In a glimpses of what makes him a frustrating Test batsman to watch - a superb stroke maker but an average under 35 - Samuels drove and cut gorgeously to take 23 off the next 19 balls. India lost 15 minutes because of the rain, but after the early lunch break it was all Ashwin.
When he came back from the break, Ashwin had bowled 22 overs in the match, and was the only wicketless Indian bowler. He had bowled one in the mini session before stumps on day two, but kept getting cut on day three. On a pitch not offering much turn, against batsmen who were happy to sit back, Ashwin was being made to work hard. Post lunch, though, he finally put together a spell. In his first over after the break, Ashwin beat Samuels in the flight, with the ball dipping and hitting him on the pad. The next ball didn't turn as much, and took a soft outside edge for two runs. The next over was probing too, and included a leading edge. You could sense Ashwin was building something up now.
Ashwin didn't have to wait too long. Two probing overs later, he had Chandrika believing he was driving at a half-volley, but the dip created distance, and Saha juggled a low catch off the batsman's pad. Replays weren't conclusive vis-à-vis the inside edge, but Chandrika didn't protest at all. Next up was Jermaine Blackwood, for a pair. Once again, Ashwin created the distance with drift and dip, and the offbreak was driven to short midwicket.
A wicketless Ashwin over later, Samuels became the victim of drift. As it is, Samuels likes staying beside the line, but this one drifted away, and then didn't turn as much as he expected, hitting the top of off stump. The ball kept dipping on the inexperienced batsmen, who were arguably facing this quality of spin bowling for the first time, and debutant Rolston Chase soon fell to forward short leg because his intended block didn't reach the pitch of the ball.
Amit Mishra broke the Ashwin streak with a topspinner that trapped Shane Dowrich, but Ashwin finished his first five-for outside Asia with another beauty. Jason Holder thought he could drive at this seemingly full offbreak, but the ball drifted away to create the bat-pad gap, and turned through it to hit the leg stump. Ashwin had now taken five wickets in 51 balls. It seemed a matter of time now, but Kohli replaced Ashwin with Yadav, and a partnership developed between the Nos 9 and 10. By tea, Brathwaite and Bishoo had added 69 runs and survived 18.4 overs.
Scoreboard
INDIA 1ST INNINGS: 566-8 dec
WEST INDIES 1ST INNINGS: 243
WEST INDIES 2ND INNINGS:
(OVERNIGHT: 21-1, FOLLOWING-ON):
K Brathwaite lbw b Sharma 2
R Chandrika c Saha b Ashwin 31
D Bravo c Rahane b Yadav 10
M Samuels b Ashwin 50
J Blackwood c Kohli b Ashwin 0
R Chase c sub b Ashwin 8
S Dowrich lbw b Mishra 9
J Holder b Ashwin 16
C Brathwaite not out 38
D Bishoo not out 32
EXTRAS: (nb5) 5
TOTAL: (72 overs, 8 wkts) 201
FOW: 1-2, 2-21, 3-88, 4-92, 5-101, 6-106, 7-120, 8-132.
BOWLING: I. Sharma 11-2-27-1, M. Shami 10-3-26-0, U. Yadav 13-4-34-1, R. Ashwin 22-8-72-5, A. Mishra 16-3-42-1.
TOSS: India
UMPIRES: Aleem Dar (PAK), Ian Gould (ENG)
MATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle (SLK)