India vs West Indies: Team India captain Rohit Sharma praised Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli for their diverse, yet equally impressive efforts with the bat after his team’s Test series victory over the West Indies in Port of Spain on Tuesday.
The final day of the second Test between India and the West Indies was rained out, resulting in a draw. India now enjoys a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.
“You need guys like Ishan (Kishan). We wanted quick runs, we promoted him, he was not afraid. He was the first one to put his hand up. In Test matches, you need guys who stabilise the innings like what Virat (Kohli) did, he played superbly. You need a mixture of everything. We have depth, we have got variety. We are in the right place. It is about getting the job done. I always believe in getting better as a team. I said after the World Test Championship final as well,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Rohit Sharma opined that it was unfortunate that the teams did not get to play as the rain had the final say on the last day of the match.
“Every win is different. Playing in WI has its own challenge. Happy with the way things went. We gave it a good shot, unfortunately, we could not get any play today. We actually went out with a positive intent yesterday. The rain had its final say. We were quite confident. You know how difficult it is batting last. We always wanted that kind of score where we wanted the opposition to go for it. There was not much on the surface. No play today, unfortunate for us,” he said.
Praising ‘Player of the Match’ Mohammed Siraj, Rohit said that the fast bowler has “taken such a giant step” and led the Indian bowling attack well.
“I do not want anyone to lead the attack. I want everyone to lead when they are having the ball in their hand. You want the entire pace battery to take responsibility,” he added.
Rohit Sharma also said that Team India has played consistent cricket during the Test series in the West Indies.
“That is what we are looking at. We want to focus on all three aspects of the game. We need to be a good fielding unit. Bowlers – how they respond under pressure. What sort of mindset do batters go in with under challenging conditions? That is what I am looking forward to,” he added.
In the last session of day four in Port of Spain on Monday, West Indies lost two wickets after India had set a mammoth total of 365 runs for them to win the match.
West Indies were at 76/2 at the conclusion of day four, led by Tagenarine Chanderpaul (24*) and Jermaine Blackwood (20*).
Kraigg Braithwaite (28) and Kirk McKenzie (0) were removed by Ravichandran Ashwin (2/33) after West Indies had made a respectable start, bringing the hosts down to 44/2.
Ishan Kishan (52* in 34 balls) and Shubman Gill (29*), who were both unbeaten, had earlier declared India’s second innings at 181/2. They set a target of 365 runs for the West Indies with a lead of 364 runs.
Jomel Warrican and Shannon Gabriel took a wicket.Rohit Sharma (57 in 44 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38 in 30 balls) also played some quick knocks for India. The visitorshad crossed the 100-run mark in just 12.2 overs, the fastest by any team in Test cricket’s history.
Earlier, West Indies was bowled out for only 255 runs in response to India’s first innings score of 438. At that point, West Indies was trailing by 183 runs.
West Indies skipper Kraigg Braithwaite led the hosts batting effort with 75 off 235 balls. For the West Indies, Alick Athanaze (age 37), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (age 33), and Kirk McKenzie (age 32) also contributed some solid blows.
Mohammed Siraj, who took 5/60, was India’s preferred bowler. Two wickets were taken by Mukesh Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja, and one was taken by Ravichandran Ashwin.
India made 438 in the first innings. Virat’s century (121 in 206 balls) and fifties by skipper Rohit Sharma (80 in 143 balls), Yashasvi Jaiswal (57 in 74 balls), Ravindra Jadeja (61 in 152 balls) and Ravichandran Ashwin (56 in 78 balls) proved to be instrumental in taking India to a massive total.
Jomel Warrican (3/89) was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies. Kemar Roach (3/104) and Jason Holder (2/57) also were among the wickets for the Windies.
