The first Test between India and West Indies will be remembered for the performances of debutants from both sides. While Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan played their first Test for India, Alick Athanaze got the chance to represent the West Indies. Although Ishan Kishan did fairly well behind the stumps, he never looked at ease while batting against the West Indies spinners on a track that had assistance for the tweakers. He also struggled to get off the mark during the second session on the third day. Captain Rohit Sharma was not impressed with the way Ishan Kishan was handling the bowlers and his gestures signalled his frustration.


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However, to cut Ishan Kishan some slack, none of the Indian batters were able to score freely on a difficult surface. Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, who made centuries, scored their runs at a strike rate of 44.18 and 46.60, respectively. The sluggish nature of the pitch and the slow outfield contributed to the challenging scoring conditions.


Rohit Sharma’s reaction suggested that India was considering a declaration after Virat Kohli's dismissal. As such, Ishan Kishan, who is normally a free-flowing batter, might have been tasked with scoring quick runs. However, the left-hander took 20 balls to open his account in Test cricket. As soon as Ishan Kishan finally scored, Rohit Sharma promptly signaled him and Ravindra Jadeja (37*) to come back to the pavilion. At that point, India had reached 421/5, enjoying a lead of 271 runs.



Although there was still plenty of time left in the match, Rohit Sharma’s decision to declare might have been influenced by the pitch conditions. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja then got down to business and they reduced West Indies to 4 down before tea. And the hosts never really recovered even in the last session as Ashwin ended with 7 wickets, Jadeja ended with two while Siraj chipped in with a solitary wicket. Indian won the match by an innings and 141 runs in Dominica.