NEW DELHI : Teenager Kraigg Brathwaite and veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul
hit half-centuries to steady the West Indies on the opening day of the
first Test against India on Sunday.Brathwaite, who turns 19
next month, was unbeaten on 61 and Chanderpaul on 55 not out as the
tourists reached 159-3 at tea in their first innings after winning the
toss.Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha bagged two wickets in the
first session and debutant off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin one in the
second to reduce the West Indies to 72-3 before Brathwaite and
Chanderpaul added 87 runs.Chanderpaul hit the first six of
the match when he lofted Ashwin over long-on. He also cracked four
boundaries in his 88-ball knock for his 57th Test half-century.Brathwaite
batted patiently for four hours, having so far hit only four boundaries
in his 196-ball knock for his second Test half-century.Ojha,
playing his first Test in a year, put pressure on the West Indies when
he trapped opener Kieran Powell (14) leg-before in his second over and
then held a return catch to dismiss Kirk Edwards (15).Ashwin
got his maiden Test wicket when he dismissed Darren Bravo, who was
bowled while attempting to cut in the first over after the lunch-break.Bravo, who smashed 195 in his previous Test innings against Bangladesh in Dhaka last week, contributed 12 runs.Ojha,
who was pressed into the attack after just nine overs, had an
opportunity to remove Powell in his opening over but failed to hold on
to a return catch. But the batsman fell in the next over.Ojha has so far conceded just 30 runs in his 20 tight overs.India
went into the opening Test of a three-match series with two pacemen,
Ishant Sharma and debutant Umesh Yadav, and as many spinners, Ashwin and
Ojha Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, the world's leading
scorer in both Test and one-day cricket, needs just one hundred to
complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries.The remaining two Tests will be played in Kolkata and Mumbai.
