Joshua da Silva made sure that he and Kemar Roach saw off the new ball. There was an uneven bounce, which made the contest spicier. At the cusp of the drinks break, West Indies lost Kemar Roach and the score was 257-9 with a lead of 53 runs.
The morning session proved to be an eventful one, where Joshua got one decision changed via DRS. The bowers of England tried every trick in the book to take the wicket of Joshua, who was sturdy in defense. The score at the end of lunch was 297-10.
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Joshua da Silva’s perfect outing with the bat
Joshua struck his unbeaten maiden Test century. The uniqueness of Joshua’s knock was that he grind the bowlers.
The likes of Stokes bowled their hearts out but were unable to take their wicket. Every bowler was just amazed by the sheer defense of Joshua.
He scored 120 runs with the remaining two tail-ender batters. WICB would now believe that they have found an almost perfect wicket-keeper batter in the form of Joshua da Silva.
The way he constructed the innings was a treat to watch, especially when the odds were against him, as scoring with tail-enders isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Joe Root tried every new fielding position but was unable to eke out his wicket. Joshua was electric while taking singles as he made sure that the tail-enders weren’t facing the majority of the deliveries in an over.
Joshua has made sure that the West Indies are in a commanding position and a dominating phase.
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Afternoon Session
The Caribbean pacers were too hot to handle after getting bundled out for 297 runs and gaining an insurmountable lead of 93 runs.
At the drinks break, England had lost 3 wickets for 27 and was reeling. Kyle Mayers was the wrecker in chief where he took 2 wickets out of 4.
The score at the end of the lunch session was 47-4. England’s top-order was demolished as the likes of Stokes and Root were back in the hut.
The West Indies bowlers were thrilled as they not only broke the back of England’s batting lineup but made sure that they weren’t giving any chance to England to make a come-back.
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Evening Session
For England, the evening session went from bad to worse as they lost 8 wickets and got a lead of 10 runs. The pacers of the West Indies created havoc, as now no one can stop them from winning the inaugural Richards-Botham Trophy in 2022.
The pick of the bowlers was Kyle Mayers, who took a 5-wicket haul and deteriorated England’s batting lineup. The lead is so tiny that only time will tell how long England will take this test match forward.
Kyle Mayers proved to be a surprise package that no one had expected and just came out of the blue.
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What lies ahead on Day 4
It’s crystal clear that the West Indies will win. With a lead of 10 runs and with only tail-enders remaining, I don’t see England posting a total of 100 runs.
Kraigg Braithwaite would be happy that England isn’t winning and, most importantly, it looks like West Indies Test cricket has revived.
At this level, where there is cut-throat competition, Joe Root on the other side would be grumpy as they had the game in their pocket but they let it slip off because of some careless cricket, which isn’t expected at this level.
All in all, the Test series was full of twists and turns, and in the end, West Indies were on the winning side. That too was a hard-fought one where every run was priceless due to the uneven bounce of the pitch.
