WI vs ENG | 3rd Test | Day 1: Home team grasps England from neck before Mahmood, Leach rescue

The National Cricket Stadium in St. George's Grenada is the battleground for the third and final test match between West Indies and England. With both the first and second Tests ending as draws, the winner of this match would take home the series 1-0. 

West Indies started by putting their best foot forward; they won the toss and decided to bowl on this green deck. The English openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley got England off to a very cautious start against a new ball that was doing a lot off the pitch.

West Indies skipper Kraigg decided to bring Mayers into the attack and that move worked like a charm. The medium-pacer started off in some fashion; he got rid of Crawley and soon managed to send Root back to the pavilion. The team from the Caribbean got off to a much-needed start and were well on top.

Then came an English fight back as they tried to get past the first session of Day 1 without losing any more wickets. When it looked like they managed to get past the storm, Jayden Seales trapped Lawrence in front of the stumps. The Three Lions could only manage over 40 runs in the first session, and they ended up losing three wickets.

The ball was doing a lot of the deck, and there was also uneven bounce seen in the first session itself. The West Indies went from strength to strength as they kept picking up wickets in the second session. The English batters had no clue whatsoever as they kept playing and missing balls, eventually edging one. 

England lost three quick wickets as they were reduced from 53-3 to 53-6 in no time. The first one to depart was Ben Stokes, Lees and Bairstow followed him to the pavilion shortly. The second session was all about the West Indies bowling unit as they kept asking questions to the English batters who crumbled under pressure. 

The hosts managed to get rid of another two batters, and the English were reduced to 90-8. In walked Jack Leach to help out Woakes. The two Englishmen settled the nerves and went on to build a partnership. They ensured that England headed into the break without any further damage. The West Indies went into the break a bit disappointed as they couldn't wrap up the tail, but they had done exceptionally well in the session to have England pinned against the wall after losing eight wickets.

The third session belonged to the English tail as they crawled their way to a score of over 200. Woakes was dismissed when the score was 114-9; everyone expected England to be done dusted from their own, but then came resilient effort from Saqib Mahmood and Jack Leach as they stitched an invaluable 90 runs partnership for the last wicket. Mahmood and Leach left the West Indies bowlers in frustration. The three lions were eventually bowled out for a score of 204 runs.

West Indies were in complete control of this fixture until the last session of Day 1, but England has managed to get things back on track as things stand. They have a score of over 200 on the board and would love to push West Indies on the back foot with a few wickets.