Team India put in a commanding performance against the West Indies as the first Test at Windsor Park came to a conclusion within three days thanks to some brilliant individual displays from the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Jaiswal, on his debut, broke numerous records as he scored a brilliant knock of 171 runs, and was subsequently adjudged the Player of the Match in his maiden international outing.
Ashwin on the other hand made a strong return after missing out on the World Test Championship (WTC) final as the veteran picked up a fifer in the first innings, helping India restrict West Indies to a paltry 150 runs.
Centurions Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma powered India to a commanding lead before the Indian captain decided to declare at 421/5, in a rather animated fashion.
Just before the declaration call from Rohit, the Indian captain was seen gesturing towards Ishan Kishan to hurry up, the latter made his Test debut and the skipper wanted him to score his first runs so that he could make the declaration call.
The ‘Hitman’ in the post-match presentation ceremony explained his animated gesture towards Kishan and Ravindra Jadeja, and later Ashwin haunted the Windies batters again as the spin wizard picked up 7 wickets while the hosts folded for 130 thus handing India a 141-run win.
“I was just letting them know we have an over or so before declaring. I wanted Ishan to get off the mark, wanted to tell him to get his personal mark and then we had to declare. I could see that he was always eager to bat, it could be frustrating for them,” explained Rohit after India’s win at Dominica.
The 36-year-old also praised his new opening partner Yashasvi, who had a memorable debut.
“He has the talent, he has shown us in the past that he is ready. Came and batted sensibly. The temperament was also tested, at no stage he was panicking. The chats we had were to remind him that ‘you belong here. You have done the hard yards, enjoy your time here’,” added Rohit.
Towards the end of his interview with the broadcasters, Rohit also hinted that in the second Test, some fresh faces could be given a chance to shine.
“There are a couple of new guys and people who haven’t had much Test cricket, so just about getting them out on the field now,” said the Indian captain.
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