India vs West Indies 2nd Test Day 5 Highlights: Rain forces draw as IND clinch series 1-0

Day 5 preview: Team India will be hoping that the weather gods favour them on the final day of the second Test against West Indies as they aim to begin the new ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with a clean sweep.

Port of Spain, capital of the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, is expected to receive a fair amount of rain on Monday and the Windies will be hoping inclement weather comes to their rescue and helps prevent successive defeats at the hands of the Rohit Sharma-led visitors.

India, who are leading the two-match series following their innings-and-141-run victory in Dominica, dominated the penultimate day of the second Test at the Queen’s Park Oval. West Indies lost wickets in a heap after resuming from their overnight score of 229/5, losing five wickets for just 26 runs to get bowled out for 255 and concede a 183-run lead. Pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj led the way with a haul of 5/60, his second Test five-for.

India, in reply, adopted England’s revolutionary ‘Bazball’ approach as they decided to take on the West Indies attack head-on and score at a rate that is more suited to the white-ball formats than red ball.

Skipper Rohit Sharma (57 off 44) and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan (52 not out off 34) led the way with blazing half-centuries as India declared on 181/2 after facing just 24 overs. The visitors set West Indies an improbable target of 365, giving their bowlers a little over three sessions to grab 10 West Indian wickets for victory.

Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, whose 12 wickets in the first Test played a major role in the Indian victory, dismissing Kraigg Brathwaite (28) and Kirk McKenzie (0) in successive overs before Tagenarine Chanderpaul (24 not out) and Jermaine Blackwood (20 not out) steadied the ship for the hosts with an unbroken 32-run stand that ensured West Indies ended the day on 76/2.