West Indies rode on Marlon Samuels' attacking knock to recover from early damage and post 107 for the loss of two wickets at lunch on the opening day of the first cricket Test against India at the historic Eden Gardens, here today.
Making his debut, Mohammad Shami got his maiden Test scalp in the form of Kieran Powell (28) after Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave India the initial breakthrough by picking up the prized wicket of Chris Gayle (18).
Asked to bowl, the Indian bowlers exploited the early conditions to great effect and removed both the West Indies' openers in side the 50-run mark.
But Samuels showed resilience before attacking Indian spinners and together with steady-looking Darren Bravo rebuilt the West Indies innings with an unbroken 60-run partnership.
Samuels was unbeaten on 45 from 55 balls during which he seven fours and two sixes, while Bravo was batting on 16 at the lunch break.
The ongoing match, which is Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar's penultimate and 199th Test and last one at the Eden, saw half-empty stands as many chose to stay way after West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
With some visible and wide cracks on the wicket, Sammy did not hesitate to bat up front as the visitors went with with two frontline pacers and two spinners, giving a maiden Test cap to left-arm seamer Sheldon Cotterrell.
The slow and dead Eden turner behaved nothing differently and was uninspiring for the bowlers. The ball stayed low while the odd one rose as India began with Bhuvneshwar and Shami.
