Team rallies behind 'Mishy' on frustrating day

While it was smooth going for India on Day One of the Kingston Test, Amit Mishra did endure a little period of frustration when he kept beating the bat but couldn't bag a wicket. His spin partner, R Ashwin, was running amok from the other end while Mishra was trying hard but without luck. In one over, he beat the bat of debutant Miguel Cummins four times with googlies but failed to find the edge. With only one wicket to go in the West Indies innings, he stood on the pitch looking embittered. It was good to see Ajinkya Rahane come running from the slips to pat and console him. Skipper Virat Kohli then gave Mishra a hug and said some encouraging words to him.On the first ball of the next over, a close lbw appeal against Shannon Gabriel was rejected by umpire Ian Gould. In the same over, an easy run-out chance was missed when Mishra failed to gather Ashwin's throw from backward short-leg with Cummins way out of the crease. Mishra angrily gestured at Ashwin, telling him he should have given the throw on the bounce, and not on the full. Ashwin, though, came to Mishra and the two spinners had a brief chat about how to get the final wicket out of the way.Shannon Gabriel rubbed salt into the wounds by clouting Mishra for a huge six. Mishra then got Gabriel to edge one but Rahane could not pouch the half chance. It seemed that Mishra will end up wicketless on a rewarding day for other Indian bowlers. However, Mishra's travails finally came to an end when Gabriel tried to hoick him and captain Kohli took the skier at short mid-off.As the team was going back into the dressing room, Rahane again came running to pat Mishra before Kohli wrapped his arms around him as the two left the field chatting.Mishra, popular as 'Mishy' or 'Mishypa' in the team, is a popular member of the squad, not only for his skills and commitment as a player but also for his simple, desi ways.No Gayle, no crowd?Some marquee names are missing from the West Indies Test squad, for different reasons. This not only weakens the team in terms of quality, it also impacts the attendance in the stands. For example, if Chris Gayle, a Jamaican, was playing, the stands at the Sabina Park stadium would not be so empty. There were but a thousand people on Day One of the Test. In Antigua, during the first Test, the attendance was even worse with some 200 fans scattered around at the sprawling Sir Viv Richards Stadium on all four days of the game. A strong perception here is that some of the best-known players are not playing for West Indies for reasons other than cricket. And that is a double whammy for Caribbean cricket.