India v West Indies: Virat Kohli's team storm to their biggest Test win in history

Sport360 staff 16:45 06/10/2018
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  • India won the Rajkot Test by an innings and 272 runs. Image: BCCI/Twitter.

    India thrashed the West Indies by and innings and 272 runs to win the first Test on day three in Rajkot.

    Forced to follow on after conceding a 468-run lead, the West Indies were bowled out again for another low total in 50.5 overs on Saturday.

    The tourists were all out for 181 in their first innings and managed only a slight improvement as they scored 196 the second time round.

    Opener Kieran Powell was the only batsman to make a significant contribution with 83 off 93 balls, which included eight boundaries and four sixes. Kuldeep Yadav recorded a maiden five-wicket haul in Tests, following Bhuvneshwar Kumar in becoming only the second Indian bowler to take five wickets in all three formats of the game.

    The victory is India’s biggest, surpassing the previous record of winning by an innings and 262 runs against Afghanistan at Bengaluru early this year.

    Ravindra Jadeja, who had earlier scored his maiden Test century, took the final wicket of Shannon Gabriel. Earlier, teenage opener Prithvi Shaw hit 134 on day one to become the youngest Indian to score a century on debut at 18.

    Skipper Virat Kohli, who scored his 24th Test ton, was pleased with the team’s clinical performance and praised opener Shaw.

    “Playing his first game, seeing him dominate – the guy showed he is different quality. That’s why he’s been pushed to the Test team,” Kohli said of Shaw.

    “Jaddu (Jadeja) as well – he has got important runs for us before and we wanted him to get three figures. We believe he can turn matches for us,” he added.

    West Indies stand-in skipper Kraigg Brathwaite said the hosts taught his young team how to bat in Test cricket.

    “Not the best of starts, credit to India. They showed us how to bat,” Brathwaite said after the defeat.

    “We didn’t get enough partnerships as a batting unit. Two or three partnerships would hold us very well,” he added.

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