In the first ♊‘Raise The Bat’ Test, hosts England had to answer to the supreme spell of fast bowling by West Indies captain Jason📖 Holder, who picked six wickets in the first innings.
Later, opener Kraig Brathwaite and Shane Dow🌞rich put the visitors in a comfortable position with a handsome lead of 114 runs in the first innings.
Despite a resolute effort from the English top order, West Indies’ pace attack kept their side in the hunt by picking up wickets at regular interva൲ls.
At ꧙stumps on Day 4, the hosts salvaged a lead of 170 runs with a couple of wickets in hand. The match is now brilliantly poised for a fascinating final day ꦑend.
However, WI captain Holder achieved a special feat in the process picking his opposite number, Ben Stokes, in both innings of the game, on Saturday.
In the first innings, Holder curtailed Stokes’ determined k🐻nock as the latter nicked one to the wicket-keeper, Dowrich.
Then, in the second innings of the Test match, Holder yet again had the wood over Stokes. The stand-in captain, who was dismissed ꧑again in his 40s, giving a catch to Shai Hope at slips.
In the process, Holder beca🐲me the only captain to dismiss his counterpart twice in a Test match, thrice in his career.
The likes of Gary Sobers, Shakib-al-Hasan and Richie Benaud have achieved the feat twice. Further, Ho𝓀lder now equalled Imran Khan in the tally of most scalps of the⛎ opposite number.
Both Holder and Imran ꦜhave 15 scalps to their name where they picked the wickets of their counterpart, second🦄-most after Benaud’s tally of 18 scalps in Test cricket.
