Hosting its maiden Test match, Lucknow’s Ekana Cricket Stadium offered a nice battle between bat and ball in the first session of Afghanistan’s Test match against West Indies.
West Indies skipper Jason Holder, surprisingly, decided to bowl with a 3-2 spin-heavy attack on a track that bore the recent history of low and slow spin. Eight overs into the game, Holder handed the ball to his spinner, Rakheem Cornwall. The stocky off-spinner removed Ibrahim Zadran in his third over and kept a tight leash throughout his nearly twelve-over spell.
Cornwall’s spin-partner– Jomel Warrican, playing his first test in 2019, backed him up with a clever mix of sliders and fast darts that eventually led to the dismissal of the other opener– Javed Ahmadi– who threw his wicket away in search of big hits. Moments before lunch, Cornwall was able to get a confident-looking Ihsanullah out.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 90/3 in 30.4 overs (Javed Ahmadi 39, Ihsanullah Janat 24; Rahkeem Cornwall 2-29)Hosting its maiden Test match, Lucknow’s Ekana Cricket Stadium offered a nice battle between bat and ball in the first session of Afghanistan’s Test match against West Indies.
