Shivnarine Chanderpaul struck 111 not out on day one in Delhi
Brathwaite helps veteran defy India on opening day of Test series
Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored an unbeaten century to help West Indies reach 256-5 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test against India in Delhi.
Veteran Chanderpaul finished on 111 not out after joining forces with teenage opener Kraigg Brathwaite (63) to lead a West Indies fightback after India had left the tourists in some trouble on 72-3.
The duo had put on 108 for the fourth wicket before Brathwaite became the third victim of the day for Pragyan Ojha (3-58).
Ojha's fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2-79) claimed the other two wickets to fall on an opening day where honours finished relatively even between the two sides.
Having won the toss and opted to bat, West Indies openers Brathwaite and Kieran Powell put on 25 before the latter became the first wicket to fall.
Powell had already been dropped by Ojha off his own bowling in the 10th over but he was not so fortunate two overs later when, still on 14, he was trapped lbw by the same bowler.
That brought Kirk Edwards to the crease and he added 20 with Brathwaite before becoming India's second victim, Ojha this time clinging on to a caught-and-bowled chance to send the 27-year-old back for 15.
West Indies' plight worsened after lunch when they lost Darren Bravo for 12, bowled by Ashwin.
Recovery
However, the arrival of Chanderpaul gave Brathwaite the support he needed and the duo started to turn the match around with an impressive century stand, during which both players brought up their half-centuries.
Brathwaite's fifty was only his second in Tests - compared to 57 for Chanderpaul - but the 18-year-old could not turn that into a maiden ton as he was dismissed in the final session.
The youngster was drawn forward by an Ojha delivery and he could not get his foot back in time before Mahendra Singh Dhoni whipped the bails off to complete the stumping.
That left the West Indies on 180-4 and they lost another batsman not long after when Marlon Samuels, having struck three fours in a rapid 15, edged Ashwin through to Dhoni.
With their opponents 200-5, India might have felt the contest was edging their way, but Chanderpaul and Carlton Baugh (19no) responded with an unbroken 56-run stand to leave the Windies in a reasonable position at stumps.
During that partnership, the 37-year-old Chanderpaul reached his 24th Test century, reaching three figures with half-a-dozen fours and two sixes.
