India vs West Indies: Ashwin’s 7/71 helps visitors thrash Windies by an innings and 141 runs in Dominica

Ravichandran Ashwin ran through the West Indies batting lineup for a second time inside three days following a surprise declaration from Rohit Sharma as India opened their account in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with a commanding innings and 141-run victory in Dominica on Friday. Ashwin followed up his figures of 5/60 on Wednesday with a haul of 7/71 on the third day, collecting his 34th Test five-for as well as his eighth ten-wicket match-haul as India bowled West Indies out for 130 after declaring on 421/5 with a first innings lead of 271. The wicket at the the Windsor Park in Roseau had rapidly deteriorated since Day 2 and the Indian batters were finding it difficult to score runs off the likes of Jomel Warrican and Rahkeem Cornwall. Naturally, it was going to be an even bigger challenge for the West Indies batters given they would be up against Ashwin and Jadeja, the most prominent spin pair of this generation, in conditions that mirrored a typical fifth day wicket in the subcontinent. Windies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul began on a cautious note and would’ve hoped to bat through to tea. Jadeja, though, drew first blood for the visitors by trapping Chanderpaul leg-before. Not long after, Ashwin managed to remove West Indies skipper Brathwaite for a second time in the match, getting him caught at slip, reducing the home side to 27/2 at tea with the prospect of the match getting over on Friday itself appearing quite likely. Jermaine Blackwood and Raymond Reifer would depart shortly after the start of the final session of the day, getting trapped leg-before by Ashwin and Jadeja respectively. West Indies were reduced to 32/4, and there was little doubt over the result of the match from thereon. Debutant Alick Athanaze was once again the standout batter for the West Indies, collecting 28 off 44 balls with the help of five boundaries and maintaining the kind of fearless approach at the crease that has made him an individual in the West Indian camp to watch out for in the coming days. Athanaze and all-rounder Jason Holder (20 not out) managed to build a series of partnerships that ensured West Indies managed to cross the 100-mark even if they were hurtling towards an innings defeat. Athanaze added 26 for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper-batter Joshua Da Silva (13) and Windies momentarily appeared to be on the mend before the latter was trapped leg-before by an inswinging delivery from Mohammed Siraj — the only wicket to go to a pacer in this innings. From thereon, it was an Ashwin show all the way through as he managed to make the Windies batters dance to his tunes and grabbed all five remaining wickets to finish with his third-best bowling figures, and his best away from home. Warrican, the last man to walk out to bat, had some fun at the expense of the Indian bowlers, collecting three boundaries in his run-a-ball 18 before getting trapped LBW to become the final West Indian wicket to fall. Rohit abruptly declares on 421 Earlier in the day, Yashasvi Jaiswal became only the third Indian batter to go past 150 on Test debut and would ultimately fall on 171, missing out on the opportunity to become the first Indian batter to score a double-century in their maiden Test outing. Jaiswal began the day on a confident note, collecting a couple of boundaries off the seamers and smashing Jomel Warrican for his only six of the innings, bringing up the 100-partnership with Virat Kohli along the way before getting caught-behind off Alzarri Joseph’s bowling. The Mumbai and Rajasthan Royals batter would later be adjudged the Player of the Match for his grand entry into the international arena.

A debut to remember for Yashasvi Jaiswal! 👍 👍

He bags the Player of the Match award for his brilliant batting perfomance in Dominica 👌 👌#TeamIndia | #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/BitP4oK1Gm

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 14, 2023

Kohli too converted a steady start into a half-century and would help India cross the 400-run mark. He was dropped a couple of times — on 40 by Kraigg Brathwaite and on 72 by wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva. The former India captain though, would miss out on his 29th Test hundred as he was dismissed by Rahkeem Cornwall, who returned to action on Friday after being absent for the most part of the second day. Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 37, collecting three fours and a six along the way and stitching a 49-run stand with Kohli for the fifth wicket. Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, making his Test debut alongside Jaiswal and Athanaze, would walk in next and would take 20 balls to open his account with a single before skipper Rohit gestured at them to head back to the dressing room. Team India, who had suffered a comprehensive defeat against Australia in the WTC final before arriving in the Caribbean, went 1-0 up in the two-Test series as a result of the dominant display in Roseau. They’ve earned an extra couple of days off before taking on the hosts at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain in the second Test that begins next Thursday. Brief Scores West Indies 150 and 130 in 50.3 overs (Alick Athanaze 28 Jason Holder 20*; Ravichandran Ashwin 7/71, Ravindra Jadeja 2/38) lose to India 421/5 decl. in 152.2 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 171, Rohit Sharma 103, Virat Kohli 76; Rahkeem Cornwall 1/32) by an innings and 141 runs.