West Indies hold out England for draw in 1st test
St John's, Mar 13: West Indies held on to draw the first test after England made a bold declaration on the final day at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
That England came within six wickets of winning on a sluggish pitch with an undermanned bowling attack seamer Mark Wood was injured was testament to its tenacity.
West Indies also deserved credit for holding out after being reduced to 67-4. Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder kept England at bay for the last 36 overs, but not without some drama.
After England captain Joe Root notched his 24th test century and was out for 109, England declared its second innings at 349-6 just before lunch and tempted West Indies with a winning target of 286 from 70 overs.
But West Indies lost too many wickets after lunch and went into survival mode, finishing on 147-4. Bonner was 38 not out after facing 138 balls and Holder 37 not out after 101.
Spinner Jack Leach was the main tormentor.
In the 49th over, he rapped Holder on his back pad on 13 but England didn't review.
England used its last review in the 53rd over when Leach thought he got Holder's edge, but no edge was found.
In the 58th, Bonner was given out lbw off Craig Overton, but Bonner reviewed. It showed an inside edge and the out was overturned.
That was England's last chance, as Bonner and Holder held out for an unbeaten stand of 80, after their key stand of 79 in the first innings.
West Indies made 375 and 147-4 in reply to England's 311 and 349-6 declared.
England finished its second innings in the morning, resuming on 217-1.
Zac Crawley added four runs to his overnight score before he was yorked by Holder on 121, and Root moved from 84 to 109 then was bowled by Alzarri Joseph.
Root daringly declared two overs later, and if the West Indies was teased to go for the win, it didn't last long.
Three of the four overs to lunch were maidens.
Opener John Campbell was let off in the eighth over when he was dropped in the slips by Crawley off Leach.
Campbell and captain Kraigg Brathwaite posted their second 50-run opening stand then departed in consecutive overs.
Brathwaite was lbw to Ben Stokes in the 26th over for 33 off 82 balls, then Campbell was dismissed by Leach, caught by Overton at mid off.
Leach got Shamarh Brooks right on tea for 5 at 65-3, and Jermaine Blackwood right after for 2 at 67-4.
Leach bowled 14 maidens in his 30.1 overs of work and took 3-57. But he couldn't prise out Bonner or Holder.
The second of three tests starts on Wednesday in Bridgetown, Barbados.
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Kho Kho World Cup: Indian women's team crowned champion
New Delhi: The Indian women's team emerged champion in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup with a dominant 78-40 victory in the summit clash against Nepal here on Sunday.
On a memorable night at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here, India produced a masterclass of speed, strategy and skill, dishing out a clinical show.
A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.
Skipper Priyanka Ingle was in the best form with multiple touch points to her name, as the hosts started off in an excellent manner. This was enough to take the Women in Blue to 34 points and preventing a single Dream Run for the Nepal team.
Manmati Dhami got Vaishnavi Pawar, and B Samjhana eliminated Priyanka Ingle but B Chaithra took India's first batch of Turn 2 into the Dream Run.
๐ธ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐
— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 19, 2025
Congratulations to #TeamIndia women for claiming the ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐#KhoKhoWorldCup #KKWC2025 #TheWorldGoesKho #Khommunity #KhoKho #KKWCWomen pic.twitter.com/tqlBPbTIdc
It wasn't for long, though, as Dipa completed the ALL OUT just moments later. This got the side back into the game but they only managed to score 24 points at the end of Turn 2, with an 11-point deficit at half time.
India were once again the dominant force in Turn 3, never allowing the Nepal defenders to settle in their stride. BK Dipa was a regular for Nepal but it went in vain throughout, ensuring that the Indians edged closer to the trophy.
Chaithra was the orchestrator of the Dream Run for India, taking the score to a massive 78 points in Turn 4. Their batch went on for a massive 5 minutes and 14 seconds, closing out the game for India and confirming them as the first-ever champions of the Kho Kho World Cup.
India's path to glory had included commanding victories over South Korea, Iran and Malaysia in the group stages, followed by triumph against Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and a masterful win over South Africa in the semi-finals.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐||
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 19, 2025
Indian๐ฎ๐ณ Women's Team beats Nepal 78-40; Clinches the inaugural #KhoKhoWorldCup Trophy. #Finals | #KhoKhoWorldCup | #TheWorldGoesKho | #BharatvsNepal | @Kkwcindia | @Media_SAI | @YASMinistry | pic.twitter.com/mh8NJuD6RX
