West Indies at its best on 1st day of 3rd test

West Indies' top four made half-centuries for only the third time in Tests, to quell fears over how the young batting line-up would fare in the absence of the injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul, their most experienced and reliable batsman.

Adrian Barath and Kraigg Brathwaite gave West Indies their best start in five years, before R Ashwin briefly buoyed India's spirits by sending back both openers bat-pad in the course of a testing spell before tea. Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo, though, added a century stand of their own to emphatically make it West Indies' day at the Wankhede Stadium. It was a pancake flat track but India made it even harder for their bowlers by shelling a couple of catches.

After losing the toss, MS Dhoni had hoped moisture in the pitch would help his quick bowlers early on, but both Ishant Sharma and debutant Varun Aaron - taking the place of the rested Umesh Yadav - got little sideways movement. Both bowlers consistently hit the 140kph mark, and though there were a couple of plays-and-misses, West Indies' young openers had few serious alarms.

Spin was introduced as early as the ninth over of the match, with Pragyan Ojha trying to exploit the West Indies' well-documented trouble against the turning ball. He got some extra bounce, and a few deliveries to spin, though not enough to impede West Indies' serene progress.

Both Barath and Brathwaite showcased a tight defence, and there were few flamboyant strokes, with the pair preferring to score mainly by guiding the loose deliveries on offer. The first caution-to-the-wind shot came from the usually stoic Brathwaite, who charged out and swatted Ashwin's second delivery over midwicket for four in the 19th over. Barath also caned Ashwin for a couple of boundaries a few overs before lunch, but he had been mostly measured in the rest of the session.

India's bowlers were tight early on in the second session, without managing a breakthrough. Ashwin induced an inside-edge from Brathwaite towards VVS Laxman at backward short leg, but the ball flew just wide of the fielder. Ishant steamed in and beat the bat without finding the edge, while Aaron followed up a sharp bouncer with an inviting fuller ball that Barath wafted at and nearly nicked. Barath chided himself for attempting that footwork-free drive, and on the other occasions when there was a momentary lapse of concentration, he and Brathwaite had a mid-pitch conference to egg each other on.