Ishan Kishan finally made his long-awaited Test debut after being selected for the India squad to face off against the West Indies in the first test at Dominica.
India, who were made to bowl first, made light work of the West Indies openers as R Ashwin struck early to scalp both the opener’s wickets.
Following the magical spell from Ashwin, Shardul Thakur was introduced into the attack and instantaneously struck for India as he dismissed batsman Raymon Reifer on his third delivery.
Lord Shardul Thakur doesn’t waste time.Also, Ishan Kishan’s maiden Test catch 😍.
.#INDvWIonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/kufukYWBfo
— FanCode (@FanCode) July 12, 2023
Thakur pushed his delivery a little fuller and wider to Reifer, who went for a big drive. The angle kept taking it away from him to claim a faint nick, and it died on its way to Kishan who leapt to his left and stretched his arms forward to get his gloves under it, securing the wicket with a brilliant catch to set his Test account rolling.
Kishan made the squad after much deliberation over the form of K.S. Bharat.
But, the added advantage that Ishan Kishan offers is he brings more firepower to the batting top order. Kishan is almost expected to fill the shoes of Rishabh Pant, who used to bring tremendous value with the gloves as well as the bat to the Indian middle order.
For the first time since Ajith Wadekar, India have a left-hand opener in Test. In the last 12 months, India have had three different combinations in 7 Tests. Now, they delve into their fourth one.