'The way Prithvi dominated on debut was outstanding to see. Easy conditions or not, you still have to go out there and back yourself to dominate. The guy showed he's different quality, which is why he's pushed into the Indian team so quickly. He just grabs his opportunity with both hands. Exciting to see from a captain's point of view,' Virat Kohli said
Rajkot: Kuldeep Yadav starred with his maiden Test five-wicket haul as India thrashed West Indies by an innings and 272 runs to go 1-0 up in the two-Test series here on Saturday.
This is India’s biggest win in Test cricket, surpassing the innings and 262-run feat achieved against Afghanistan in June this year.
It was a complete domination by India as they took 14 wickets on the third day to wrap up the match with still two days left. West Indies, who started the day at 96/4 in the first innings, were bowled out for 181 in 48 overs.
That's a wrap! INDIA WIN the first Test.#TeamIndia beat the Windies by an innings and 272 runs 👏👏🕺🕺 pic.twitter.com/DITXuZRBuy
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 6, 2018
The same story unfolded in the second essay as the visitors, following on, folded for 196 in 50.5 overs. Kieran Powell played a lone hand, with 83.
For the hosts, it was the spin trio of Kuldeep, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who shared all the 10 wickets between them. While Kuldeep returned with his best of 5/57, Jadeja had three while Ashwin took two.
"I don't think you can compare the two conditions (England and India). That was a bigger challenge, something we don't experience day in and day out. We knew when we come back home and the kind of quality we have, we will dominate in these conditions. The guys understand how to play in these conditions and they were clinical," Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Kohli heaped praise debutant Prithvi Shaw, who scored a century and was named Man-of-the-match.
"The way Prithvi dominated on debut was outstanding to see. Easy conditions or not, you still have to go out there and back yourself to dominate. The guy showed he's different quality, which is why he's pushed into the Indian team so quickly. He just grabs his opportunity with both hands. Exciting to see from a captain's point of view," the captain said.
West Indies stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite said he was disappointed with his team's batting.
"Not the best of starts, but obviously credit to India. They played well and showed us how to bat. Quite disappointed. As a batting unit we didn't get any partnerships put together and that cost us. I think the batters we have are fully capable of doing the job. We need two or three big partnerships to set it up," he said.
On Friday, India had declared their first innings at 649/9 with centuries from debutant Prithvi, Kohli and Jadeja.
The second Test starts in Hyderabad on October 12.
Last Updated Oct 6, 2018, 4:01 PM IST