Team India produced a clinical effort to rout Windies by an innings and 272 runs to go 1-0 up in the two-match Test series at Rajkot.
Meanwhile, India dominated the game throughout with bowlers and batsmen coming good in tandem. After a dismal tour of England, Virat Kohli & Co were desperate to shrug it off and start afresh. In a bid, they dropped the incumbent openers and brought in young Prithvi Shaw.
Shaw did justice to the decision notching up a century in style in his debut game. He played his natural game taking on the bowlers, thus bagging the man of the match award. Moreover, he became the 15th Indian batsmen to score a hundred on debut and the second opener to do so.
READ MORE – Ajit Agarkar Bats for Rishabh Pant for the ODIs
Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were the other two centurions as India piled up a mammoth 649 runs in the first innings. Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara also contributed with half-centuries which will give them enough confidence ahead of the Australia tour. The batsmen will have to counter the challenging wickets if India have to do well in Australia.
MUST READ – India wins Rajkot Test by an innings and 272 runs
Windies, on the other hand, struggled to offer any resistance when they came out to bat. The openers gave their wicket easily apart from skipper Kraigg Braithwaite who was dismissed by a peach of a delivery from Mohammed Shami. The spinners shared rest of the wickets with Ravichandran Ashwin bagging four of them. India rattled Windies for a mere 181 runs as Virat Kohli asked them to follow on.
ALSO LIKE – 2019 World Cup Schedule
It was the same script in the second essay as the host bowled them out within two sessions. Kieron Powell showed some intent playing some good looking shots, however, lacked support from the other end. Kuldeep Yadav starred for India in the second innings returning with a five-wicket haul, his first in Test cricket. Despite his valiant efforts, Powell departed for 83 runs giving Kuldeep his fifth wicket. Ravindra Jadeja, who scored a century earlier, now chipped in three wickets thus finishing the game with four.
Windies added only 15 runs more from their first innings score as India won the match by an innings and 272 runs. This will be a huge confidence booster for India who will washout Windies before the all-important tour to the Down Under.
READ MORE – ICC Under-19 World Cup Schedule