5 reasons for India’s thumping win over West Indies
Dec 31, 2018 at 2:04 PM
India defeated West Indies by an innings and 92 runs in the first Test at Antigua on the fourth day. It was a complete performance by the Indian team who outplayed the West Indies team in all departments. The Indian team played with aggression and the coaching stint of Anil Kumble started with a win.
Here we look at the 5 reasons for India’s big win over West Indies in the first test match.
- Ashwin all round performance
R Ashwin was the star performance for India in this match. In the first innings, Ashwin was promoted to number 6 in the batting order ahead of Saha. He scored his third century against West Indies which helped India to post a mammoth total. During his bowling stint, he did not pick any wicket in the first innings. In the second innings, he bowled with venom and picked the best figures outside Asia. He picked 7/83 and was named the man of the match.
2. Kohli played captain’s knock
Virat Kohli the Indian test captain showed the class by scoring his first double century of his test career. He came at the fall of Vijay’s wicket. Kohli looked in sublime touch making the West Indies bowlers pay for their mistakes of not bowling right line and length. Virat Kohli had useful partnerships with Shikhar Dhawan, Rahane and Ashwin which made sure that Indian team reached a huge score. He was finally dismissed for 200. Kohli became the first Indian captain to score a double century in overseas.
3. Impressive show put on by Indian fast bowlers
It was an impressive performance by the Indian fast bowlers in the first test match. Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav bowled with aggression and made the life tough for West Indies batsmen. In the first innings, Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav picked 4 wickets each. During the second innings despite not picking many wickets, did not give too many runs and bowled tightly.
4. Contributions from lower order
In the first test match, the lower order comprising of Saha, Mishra added useful runs for the team. Saha the wicketkeeper batsmen made 40 runs which proved vital. Amit Mishra contributed with a vital 53 runs which added to West Indies. All these runs were vital as the Indian bowlers could pressure more and more pressure on the West Indies batting line-up in the entire match.
5. Useful partnerships
The Indian team had useful partnerships in the first innings. The first wicket fell early at the score of 14. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli put on 105 runs for the third wicket. The fourth wicket between Rahane and Kohli put on 67 runs. Ashwin and Kohli added 178 runs for the 5th wicket which put the Indian team in a commanding position. The other partnerships also contributed which helped India to score 566/8 declared.