The Indian team couldn’t have asked for a better start to their tour of the Caribbean. On Sunday evening, the Indian cricket team wrapped up a comprehensive win in the opening Test match of the tour, beating the hosts by an innings and 92 runs to go 1-0 up in the four-match Test series.
After posting 566-8 batting first, the Indian bowling unit dismissed the home side for 243 and 231 runs. The result was India’s first innings victory in the Caribbean.
Across 233 Test matches and over a period of 86 years, West Indies had previously lost a home Test by an innings or more on four occasions. That illustrates how rare it has been for West Indies to lose by such big a margin as they did on Sunday.
The innings and 92-run defeat at North Sound should rankle the cricket establishment in West Indies, for it was their biggest defeat in a home Test match.
There were several players who contributed to India’s win. But this match will always be remembered as the first Test match in which an Indian captain scored a double century away from home, and for Ravichandran Ashwin’s all-round brilliance – becoming the first Indian cricketer to score a century and take five wickets in an innings on two separate occasions.
After going wicketless in the first innings, Ashwin bowled brilliantly in the second innings to finish with a rich haul of 7-83 – the second best bowling figures of his Test career. His 7-wicket haul was also the best bowling figures by an Indian in Test matches in the Caribbean.
The win is India’s 128th Test victory overall and 41st in overseas Test matches. It is also India’s 6th win in Test matches in the Caribbean.
The 2nd Test begins at Kingston, Jamaica on 30 July. The Indian camp will be excited with the prospect of playing at Sabina Park as when the Indian team toured the Caribbean on the last two occasions – in 2006 and 2011 – it was their solitary win in the Test matches in Jamaica that helped them win the series 1-0.
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