West Indies v India, 1st Test: Memorable moments of the match

India kick started their Caribbean sojourn with a win after they packed the hosts inside four days to in the first Test of the four-match series by an innings and 92 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin, just like he has been in recent matches, was the chief architect of the win. The off-spinner who went wicketless in the first innings snapped a 7-wicket haul on the day four wicket and helped India wrap up the game at the earliest. The West Indies batsmen didn’t do anything extraordinary. After getting bundled out for 243 in the first innings, they inflicted a 323-run deficit on them. India decided to make the hosts follow-on (for the first time since 2006). First innings savior Kraigg Brathwaite failed in the second innings and departed for a single digit score. Rajendra Chandrika, Marlon Samuels at the top tested the Indian bowlers a bit but soon the Ashwin magic began and wickets started falling in a hurry before Carlos Brathwaite and Devendra Bishoo frustrated the Indians for over 22 overs. Their resistance dragged the match till the last session of the day but eventually Ashwin polished off the tail to get things sorted out. 1. Virat Kohli’s double ton: India cricketer Virat Kohli kisses the ground after reaching 200 runs. (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) The match began with India skipper Virat Kohli hitting his first Test double century. Kohli carried forward his amazing limited-overs form into the purest form of cricket and helped India reach a commanding position in the game straight away. Coming in to bat after the departures of Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan upped the run rate with some attacking show of cricket. Kohli later combined with Ravi Ashwin and took India forward towards a big score. He reached his century on day one and completed his double on the following day after resuming on 143. Unfortunately, he got out just after completing his double century. The wonderful knock lasted 283 balls and included 24 fours. Also read – West Indies v India 1st Test, Day 4 – Statistical Highlights 2. Mohammad Shami achieves milestone: India cricketer Mohammed Shami (R) is congratulated by teammates. (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) Mohammad Shami, who had a painful injury layoff of more than 15 months, celebrated his Test comeback by reaching the 50 wickets milestones. He completed this mark in 13 matches. He now sits in the company of Venkatesh Prasad and is the joint fastest Indian fast bowler to do so. The other fast bowlers standing close to him are Irfan Pathan and S Sreesanth. Both of them took 14 matches to reach 50 Test wickets. Shami picked up 4 wickets in the first inning and gave India a great start. While there was little or no swing on offer he used the short ball really well to surprise the batsmen and bowled consistent lines to earn the wickets. 3. A century and a five-for: Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates his 100th run. (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) Ravichandran Ashwin had a bang bang start to his tour. The off-spinning all-rounder smashed his 3rd Test century and the first outside Asia to give a perfect start to the Test. But after the joy of scoring a century, Ashwin had to bear the wicketless spell in West Indies’ first innings. He was completely rendered ineffective on a slow unhelpful pitch. However, the off-spinner made a solid comeback to script India’s victory with a match-winning spell of 7/83 in the second inning and was rightly awarded the Man of the match for his performance. 4. West Indies cling on in the second innings: West Indies Devendra Bishoo (L) bats during day four of the cricket test match. (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) After enforcing the follow-on, India began their efforts to clinch the match as soon as possible. Mohammad Shami snapped Kraigg Brathwaite by the end of day three itself to put pressure on the opposition. The following day Rajendra Chandrika and Marlon Samuels managed to hold up India for 22 overs after losing Darren Bravo prematurely. Following a rain delay on the 4th day, Ashwin soon began making inroads and the Windies batting began crumbling. However, the victory got delayed by almost a session for India after Carlos Brathwaite and Devendra Bishoo clung in the middle scoring 51 and 45 respectively. The duo managed to drag the match till the last session but it wasn’t enough to save the game. 5. India’s first innings win in the Caribbean: India’s cricketers celebrate. (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) It was a historic win for India. This was the first time India had managed to beat the hosts by an innings margin on their home soil. The innings-and-92-run win in Antigua was only their fourth innings victory for the Indian team outside Asia and their biggest one outside Asia. Their previous biggest win outside Asia was by an innings and 90 runs against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2005-06. Winning their first Test on the tour will give Virat Kohli & Co. lot of confidence going ahead in the series and also marks a positive start to the Kohli-Kumble partnership. Also read – WI v IND, 1st Test Review: Ashwin’s 7-wicket haul ensures India an innings victory

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West Indies v India, 1st Test: Memorable moments of the match

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