A pinch of patience, a dash of temperament, spoonful of aggression and a heap of talent, on 24th July 2016, Team India gave us the perfect recipe on how to win a Test match. But it’s not just about the recipe, a dish becomes perfect with the right ingredients and here the ingredients were a talented bunch of Indian players who made the 1st Test match a perfect dish for every cricket fan’s craving.

As India went on to bat first, all eyes were on the Indian captain – Virat Kohli and he surely gave his fans a treat. A treat of classical drives and powerful punches, in an innings where he went on to score his first double hundred in Test cricket. With this stupendous 200-run knock, Kohli became the first Indian skipper to slam a double ton in an away Test. The previous highest score by an Indian captain overseas was 192 by Mohammad Azharuddin against New Zealand in Auckland in 1989-90. Not only was he the first captain but at the age of 27 Kohli also became the youngest captain to score a double-century in West Indies. This was only the third time in the past 50 years that a visiting captain went on to score a double-hundred in West Indies. Confidence and his hunger for runs were very evident in his words “I made my debut here and it wasn’t a memorable series for me. Coming back here and getting a double-hundred gives me a lot of satisfaction, purely because of the fact that I have missed a couple of big scores in the past. I know I have the ability to get big hundreds. This is my first double-hundred in first-class matches in general, so this is something I always wanted to do and I am feeling really grateful today that I was able to cross the mark.”

The next surprise ingredient was the Indian off-spinner R Ashwin, who made the most of the opportunity as he went on to score his third Test hundred. The main highlight of his performance was when he took 7 wickets giving away 83 runs in the 2nd innings. These figures are the best by an Indian bowler in West Indies and the third-best by an Indian spinner in Test cricket outside Asia. Only three players including Ashwin have scored and a century and taken a seven-wicket haul in the same Test. Adding to records Ashwin became the first Indian to score a century and take a five-wicket haul in the same Test twice. Ashwin was also awarded the man of the match trophy for his all-round performance. This was his 5th Man of the Match award in Tests, which is the most by any Indian since November 2011.

The pace department always adds a certain spice to the match, here the India’s pace attack was spearheaded by Mohammed Shami. Shami was making a comeback after 18 months (from a knee injury) and he gave the West Indies batsmen a run for their money. On a slow pitch where it is difficult to get the batsman out, Shami bowled with a lot of fire. His efforts and patience rewarded him four wickets in the 1st innings. The strategy behind his success was sticking to bowling short. “On slow wickets, the batsmen don’t expect the short ball. So, that was our plan to bowl the short delivery as it would fetch us wickets.” he said in a post-match interview.

But this win wouldn’t have been a perfect win if it had not been for contributors like Shikar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, and Umesh Yadav. Shikar Dhawan’s score of 84 gave India the start it needed. This was his first fifty after eight Test innings. This is what he had to say about his knock “I think opening is the toughest work and you need a big heart for it, new wicket, new ball and they bowl with full energy and being an opener your technique should also be good because you have to leave a lot of balls and you need patience as well.” Another Delhi lad who impressed everyone was Amit Mishra with his quick fire 53 in the first innings and total 3 wickets in the match.
With these key performances, India conquered the Antigua Test and achieved the feat of their biggest win outside Asia. India is set to play three more Test matches on this tour, with the 2nd Test match starting tomorrow (30th July, 2016) at the iconic Sabina Park, Kingston. With most of the Indian players in-form, the Sabina Park Test match promises be yet another delicious encounter.

Quotes taken from India Today, Espncricinfo.com & Bcci.tv

Image courtesy : BCCI