India fall for 246

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Opener Adrian Barath, Ramnaresh Sarwan and the rest of the West Indies' batting line-up will today need to put in an impressive display if they are to gain the upper hand over India in the first Digicel Test at Sabina Park.

This game, which has so far produced some brilliant cricket, saw the West Indies closing the opening day on 34 for 1, 212 runs behind India's first innings 246, and with the pitch offering some assistance to the bowlers, it is anticipated that today's play will be as enthralling as it was yesterday.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, India were restricted to below 250 by a fine spell of fast bowling from 29-year-old Fidel Edwards. Edwards, in his first game since 2009, bowled with pace and accuracy to end with figures of four for 56.

"Right now, my body is feeling all right, and it was good to make my comeback in Jamaica, after not playing for so long," said Edwards.

"The pitch has some bounce, and the ball was swinging a bit early on, so I tried to bowl in good areas, and bowl one side of the wicket before trying to mix it up to each batsman," he added.

A performance that would have justified his inclusion in the starting eleven over the slightly out-of-form Kemar Roach, Edwards' spell was like the finishing act to the West Indies' performance, which was initially set up by the increasingly reliable Ravi Rampaul, and bowling find of the year, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.

Opening the bowling

Rampaul, who opened the bowling with Edwards, bowled with hostility at the top and towards the end to close with figures of three for 59, while Bishoo, who got rid of India's top three batsmen - Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni - finished with three for 75.

India, meanwhile, had 24-year-old middle-order batsman Suresh Raina and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to thank for not posting a lower total. After being 85 for six at one stage, the two lifted India with a seventh-wicket partnership of 146.

The left-handed Raina, who prior to yesterday had eight Tests under his belt at an average of 33.90, including a century and two half centuries, hit 15 fours on his way to 82, while 30 year-old Singh, who in 93 appearances has two centuries and eight half-centuries to his credit, made a 74-ball 70, which included 10 fours and six.

INDIA first innings

A. Mukund b Rampaul 11M. Vijay c Bishoo b Rampaul 8R. Dravid c Sammy b Bishoo 40V.V.S. Laxman c Sammy b Bishoo 12V. Kohli c wk Baugh b Edwards 4S.K. Raina c Bishoo b Rampaul 82+M.S. Dhoni c Simmons b Bishoo 0

Harbhajan Singh c Bishoo b

Edwards 70P. Kumar lbw b Edwards 4A. Mishra c Sarwan b Edwards 6I. Sharma not out 0Extras: (b1, lb2, nb6) 9Total: (all out; 61.2 overs) 246

Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Vijay), 2-30 (Mukund), 3-64 (Laxman), 4-69 (Kohli), 5-83 (Dravid), 6-85 (Dhoni), 7-231 (Harbhajan Singh), 8-236 (Kumar), 9-246 (Mishra), 10-246 (Raina)

Bowling: Edwards 16-1-56-4, Rampaul 18.2-2-59-3, Sammy 13-3-42-0, Bishoo 11-2-75-3, Simmons 2-0-8-0, Nash 1-0-3-0.

WEST INDIES first innings

A. Barath not out 26L. Simmons c Vijay b Sharma 3R. Sarwan not out 2Extras: (b1, lb1, nb1) 3Total: (1 wkt; 20 overs) 34

To bat: D Bravo, S Chanderpaul, B Nash, +C Baugh,D Sammy, R Rampaul, D Bishoo, F Edwards

Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Simmons)

Bowling: Kumar 8-2-12-0, Sharma 6-1-8-1, Mishra 4-0-8-0, Harbhajan Singh 2-1-4-0.

Toss: India.

Position: West Indies trail by 212 runs with nine wickets in tact.

Umpires: I. Gould, D. Harper