West Indies make solid start in India cricket Test

The West Indies made a solid start to reach 80 without loss in their first innings at lunch on the opening day of the third and final Test against India on Tuesday.

Adrian Barath was unbeaten on 37 at the break and teenager Kraigg Brathwaite on 35 not out after the tourists elected to bat at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The West Indies openers batted patiently in the two-hour morning session, with Barath playing some handsome shots especially against pacemen Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma in the opening hour.

Barath fluently drove debutant Aaron through the covers and turned him to fine-leg for fours before cover-driving Sharma for a boundary.

He continued to punish loose deliveries, cutting and driving off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for two fours in an over just before the lunch break. He has so far hit six fours in his 76-ball knock.

Brathwaite, who turns 19 next month, hit four boundaries.

India pressed left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha into the attack after only eight overs, but failed to keep pressure on the West Indies openers on an easy-paced pitch.

The hosts lead 2-0 in the series after winning the opening Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.

The West Indies earlier suffered a setback when in-form batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was ruled out of the Test due to a calf injury. He was replaced by Kieran Powell.

The tourists also brought in paceman Ravi Rampaul in place of Kemar Roach.

India made two changes from the side that played in the last Test, replacing paceman Umesh Yadav and all-rounder Yuvraj Singh with Aaron and middle-order batsman Virat Kohli.