WI vs IND

So, that is it from myself, Karthik Raj and my co-commentator, Sooryanarayan Sesha. Do take some good rest and join us at Sportskeeda tomorrow with the SL vs PAK Test continuing while action in the Zim AfroT10, MLC and ECS Czechia will continue as usual. Until next time, it is a warm good-bye!

Rohit Sharma (India captain): Every win is different. Playing in West Indies, playing in India has its own challenge. But I'm pretty happy with how things went here. We gave it a good shot. Unfortunately we couldn't get any play today but there's nothing you can do about it. We went out with positive intent yesterday wanting to get a result out of this game but unfortunately rain had the final say. We know how difficult it is batting last and having that score - whether you can go for that score or not. We always wanted that score where once we set that target, the opposition will think 'okay if we have wickets we have a chance'. The wicket didn't deteriorate as such even though it was Day 5. The odd ball was turning from the rough patch but nothing else as such. We wanted to set a target where the batters were trying to force playing their shots. (On Siraj leading the attack in the absence of Bumrah and Shami) I've been watching them (the bowlers) now for the past two-three years. Especially Siraj has taken great strides personally as a player. I don't want anyone to lead the attack, I want everyone to lead whenever they have the ball in hand. You want the entire pace battery to take responsibility and get the job done for the team. That's what the guys have done. We've played really good Test cricket in the past few years. That's what we want to keep doing. (On Kishan's counter-attack) It's a great asset to have - Test matches change quite quickly and you need guys like Ishan to be part of the mix. We wanted quick runs, we promoted him up the order. He was not afraid, he was the first one to put his hand up as well. I've seen it over the years - in Test matches you need guys who can stabilize the innings when you're under pressure like what Virat did in the first innings. He batted brilliantly. We've got depth, we've got variety and left-handers as well at the top. At this point I feel we're in the right place. It's just about going out and getting the job done again and again. That's the challenge of Test cricket. (Improvement areas?) I always believe in getting better as a team no matter what the results are. I said it after the World Test Championship as well - except that one game we consistently played good cricket throughout that phase. For us it's about improving in all three departments. We want to focus on all three aspects. We need to be a good fielding unit. The bowlers, when put under pressure, how to respond. And when the conditions are challenging, what kind of mindset the batters go in with. We play in different conditions all the time so for us to be mentally ready for all surfaces and conditions is what I'll be looking forward to.

Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies skipper): I think we showed some fight in this game batting a lot of overs. Bowling wise, we could have been more disciplined. Generally, it was a good comeback. We lost five wickets for just 20 runs yesterday which wasn't good but we batted well otherwise. (Whether the chase was on) We were positive. Had 98 overs and the pitch was relatively good. So, it was good but unfortunately we didn't have a chance with the weather. Alick (Athanaze) came in and looked the part from the word go. Kirk (McKenzie) as well, he looked good in the first innings. They are the future. I have a lot of belief in them. It will be a good challenge in Australia who are possibly the best team in the world. It will be good to have some camps in the meantime. I know we have an A tour of South Africa in November which is pretty similar to Australia. We have the time to prepare. Some guys will be playing white-ball cricket but a mixture of camps and A team matches will be good

Mohammed Siraj is the Player of the Match for his superb spell of 5/60. Here's what he has to say: This is my first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. This is very memorable. There was no help for the fast-bowlers here. I just kept it simple and executed my plan and was successful. When you take wickets on a pitch where there is no help then you get a lot of confidence. This will help me a lot in the upcoming matches. Rohit bhai told me to keep belief in whatever I've been doing until now and not put pressure on myself. He told me to enjoy myself.

MATCH DRAWN!

India 1st Inns 438-10
West Indies 1st Inns 255-10
India 2nd Inns 181-2 dec
West Indies 2nd Inns 76-2

Kraigg Brathwaite 28 | Tagenarine Chanderpaul 24*

Ravichandran Ashwin 11-2-33-2

So, that's that as the match has been called off eventually. India will be gutted that the match has ended as a drawn after putting themselves in a dominant position. Virat Kohli got a hundred while several other batters chipped in to help India post an impressive 438 in the first innings. Then, the Indian bowlers came back strongly despite a decent effort from the West Indies to bowl them out for 255. Mohammed Siraj, in particular, was outstanding as he helped India bowl out the hosts early on Day 4 courtesy a five-wicket haul.

Thereafter, the Indian opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal came out all guns blazing to put the West Indian bowlers on the back-foot. While the skipper Rohit got to a rapid fifty before getting out, Jaiswal was dismissed for 38. However, this didn't bring a reduction in the run-rate as Ishan Kishan belted the bowlers as he got to his maiden Test fifty! In the end, India declared on 181-2 off 24 overs. Predictably, the West Indian opening duo of Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kraigg Brathwaite came out with a defensive mindset but Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice to remove the latter and Kirk McKenzie for a duck. There were no more hiccups for the West Indies on Day 4 as Tagenarine and Jermaine Blackwood saw the team through to Stumps.

Despite losing a lot of overs on Day 4 due to rain, the Indian team would have been confident of eking out a result. Yet, it wasn't meant to be me as the weather gods never relented on the final day!

14.50 local time, 00.20 IST: The inevitable has happened - the match has been drawn. No play possible hereon with the ground simply soaked with water. India take the series 1-0 and it's their fifth consecutive series win in the West Indies!

14.27 local time, 23.57 IST: Great news...well, at least there was some great news when the rain had stopped. It was just the calm before the storm quite literally so as it turns out - it's pelting down now! This is so not what we wanted but alas, it is what it is...

The wait continues and it's time to indulge in more reading then, folks! Mohammed Siraj grabbed headlines for his brilliant spell that blew the West Indian lower order away on the fourth morning of this Test. Here's what a number of experts had to say on the same!👇

13.37 local time, 23.07 IST: The weather gods continue to play hide and seek as the covers are back on. We hear it's just a precaution at this point but time to do the rain dance (again) folks!

13.30 local time, 23.00 IST: Okay then - play will commence at 13.40 local time (23.10 IST). We'll keep you updated on the number of overs to be bowled shortly but we will get going at last!

13.20 local time, 22.50 IST: Great news folks - the rain has subsided and the covers are coming off. Let's hope that's the last we've seen of the rain for today and we have no further interruptions. Oh and of course, a quick start now as well!

13.08 local time, 22.37 IST: Bad news as rain has returned with just ten minutes to go for the proposed start of play. So, we might have to wait a bit more!

Well, we've heard of the rain dance but is there something like the rain song perhaps? Whether that was his intention or not, Daren Ganga sure knew how to keep himself entertained when the covers were on. Have a look!👇

12.27 local time, 21.57 IST: Good news for Indian fans, in particular, as we have news that play will start at 22.45 IST with 67 overs to be bowled

There is no official word yet but it's safe to assume that Lunch has been taken. The covers are off and there is bright sunshine around, looking promising for some cricket in the afternoon session. We've already lost a whole session today. Hopefully, we get through the rest of the day uninterrupted. That's about it in terms of weather updates from myself (Pratyush) and my partner, Pradeep. It'll be the dup of Soorya and Karthik to bring you further updates, on the other side. Over to you, folks!

11:29 local time, 20:59 IST: The covers are being peeled off! There isn't a lot of hustle and bustle around but it certainly looks a lot brighter. The rain has stopped now and the process of mopping up is underway. It's unlikely that we'll get any play before the Lunch break, but we're hopeful of resumption after the scheduled Lunch break.