India left rattled by West Indies opening salvo

Jun 20, 2011 |

Tags:

Windies tour

India failed to justify their decision to bat in the first Test against West Indies here on Monday, limping to 69 for four in their first innings at lunch.

Rahul Dravid was not out on 30, after Virat Kohli fell on the stroke of lunch to leave the Indians in disarray.

The visitors were setback early, when Murali Vijay was caught at backward point for eight slicing a drive off Ravi Rampaul, who also bowled debutant left-hander Abhinav Mukund off the inside edge for 11.

VVS Laxman joined fellow veteran Dravid, and stemmed the fall of wickets for close to an hour. He was caught at slip for 12 off the first delivery from Devendra Bishoo, edging a loose drive, and leaving India 64 for two.

India's shaky start got worse when Kohli was caught behind for four, playing defensively forward to Fidel Edwards in the final over before the interval.

Rampaul has so far been the pick of the West Indies bowlers, taking two for 19 from eight overs.

The Indians included three Test newcomers Mukund, Kohli, and fast-medium bowler Praveen Kumar.

West Indies included Edwards, who will be playing his first Test in close to two years, after he was sidelined with a career-threatening back injury.

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