Mumbai: India’s ace paceman Jasprit Bumrah claimed first Test hat-trick as he broke the back of West Indies’ batting, leaving the hosts stuttering at 87/7 on day two of the Kingston Test.
The 25-year-old pacer became only the third Indian, after Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, to claim a Test hat-trick, and finished the day with impressive figures of 6/16 on Saturday, 31 August.
In the ninth over of the West Indies innings, Bumrah first had Darren Bravo caught by KL Rahul at second slip on the second ball, and then had both Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase trapped in front with the next two balls. Bumrah’s hat-trick was also backed by a good review from skipper Virat Kohli, after Chase had been adjudged not out.
None of the West Indies batsmen showed any meaningful resistance, with Shimron Hetmyer finishing as their top-scorer of the day, with a 57-ball 34.
Before Bumrah, it was middle-order Hanuma Vihari doing all the damage, in the company of No.9 Ishant Sharma, as India racked up a strong first-innings total of 416. The visitors began day two on 264/5, with Vihari on 42 and Rishabh Pant on 27.
Pant was dismissed before he could add to his overnight tally, by West Indies captain Jason Holder. Ravindra Jadeja, who scored a fifty in the first Test, contributed 16, before becoming debutant Rahkeem Cornwall’s second international victim, reducing India to 302/7.
From there, Vihari and Ishant got together and shared a 112-run stand for the eighth wicket, taking India’s total past 400. In the process, Vihari brought up his maiden Test ton, scoring a steady 111 from 225 balls, which also featured 16 fours, while Ishant hit his maiden Test fifty, scoring an 80-ball 57.
Jason Holder was West Indies’ star bowler, returning 5/77, while Cornwall chipped in with three wickets.