The first test between India and West Indies took place at Antigua. The test was over inside four days resulting in a massive defeat for the West Indies. The match was part of the inaugural world test Championship, which will continue for almost a year and a half. The star of the match was Jasprit Bumrah. The speed merchant put in a fine spell in the second innings taking five for seven. The West Indies were bowled out for a mere 100 runs. BBC has reported that India thrashed the West Indies by 318 runs. It is the biggest victory by India on an overseas tour.
India bat first
The test began in overcast conditions and the West Indies captain won the toss asked India to bat. At that time it looked a good decision as in no time the West Indies pace attack took the first three Indian wickets. They got rid of India's most prolific batsmen, namely Cheteshwar Pujara, and Captain Virat Kohli for next to nothing.
The Indians recovered thanks to a good rearguard action led by Vice-Captain Ajinkya Rahane who made 81. India reached 297. This proved to be beyond the West Indies who were bowled out for 222. At that time the match looked an even fight. The wicket had now dried up and the ball came slowly onto the bat. The Indians were able to muster a score of 343 for 7 declared on the back of a century by Rahane who made 102.
He won the man of the match award,
Defeat for West Indies
The West Indies were facing a target of over 400 runs for a win. When they came into bat they had not bargained for a fiery spell by Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian speedster in a spell of eight overs took five wickets for seven runs and completely wrecked the West Indies batting lineup.
it was a fine exhibition of fast bowling and a reminder to the world that Bumrah along with Joe Archer of England is perhaps the best pace bowler in the world. Times of India has reported that after the match Bumrah, in an interview with Karthik, said he felt "fine" with his bowling.
The failure of the batting has put a question mark on team selection.
Many are wondering if Chris Gayle who is still stroking the ball nicely would not have been an asset to the team. The innings lasted only 26 overs and all they could muster was a hundred runs. At one stage they had lost eight wickets for 50 runs and there was a chance that they would be out for their lowest score ever.
The tail, however, wagged and the home team reached a score of 100. The West Indies suffered their biggest defeat against India.
Earlier Times
There was a time when the West Indies would invariably beat India. This was the time when they had great batsmen like Walcott and Weeks and fast bowlers like Holding and Marshal. Those days are over and now they have not beaten India for nearly two decades.
Indian Cricket is on a resurgence and despite the failure in the world cup when they lost to New Zealand, the Indian team remains the strongest in test cricket.
Credit
All credit for this win must go to the Skipper Virat Kohli and the team manager and coach Ravi Shastri, who has now been given a contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India up to 2021. Virat Kohli has led India to the most number of victories since India started playing Test Cricket in 1932. The home team have a lot of thinking to do for the second test which will be played at Barbados
