Twitter Reactions: Virat Kohli slams a ton to lead India to a commanding position on Day 1

Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss in the first Test of the series and though there was some grass on the surface decided to bat first. The green that was left on the pitch did have some life but was more so to keep the surface together for the duration of the game. So the Indian openers were up against the new ball pair of Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder. Patience was the key and bowling a consistent line did pay off for Gabriel as he soon had the prized wicket of Murali Vijay.

Shikhar Dhawan was focused to stay there. He didn’t try to get many boundaries rather ran harder to collect the twos and threes. Eventually, things eased out and runs were flowing off his bat. He got to his half-century before the Lunch break and looked good for a biggie. Dhawan had a great partnership with skipper Kohli after he lost Cheteshwar Pujara who also played a lose shot against Devendra Bishoo.

Right from the onset Virat played positive cricket and looked to score runs. While it wasn’t coming easy for the others, he seemed in no trouble whatsoever. He soon got to his fifty but lost his partner Dhawan who was trapped leg-before-wicket by Bishoo. A surprising decision was made as Ravichandran Ashwin walked into the middle ahead of wicketkeeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha. Ashwin did well and not just played the overs but also scored runs.

Kohli meanwhile continued to play in his own zone and remained untouchable. The boundaries kept coming and soon he got to the 12th Test century of his career. The first against West Indies. He kept going and also made sure he didn’t lose his focus after the hundred and remained unbeaten. He was still batting on 143 when the umpires called it a day and Ashwin at the other end was 22*.

The duo has added 66* runs for the 5th wicket and look good to take India to a total where they would not need to bat again. Team India ended the day at 302/4; it will be for West Indies to save the game here on.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Kohli’s ton: