India showed us how to bat, says Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite

India registered their biggest Test win in Rajkot, beating the Windies by an innings and 272 runs, and have thus taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The visitors have much to analyse before the second and final Test gets underway in Hyderabad. They were well below par in all the departments, but the captain Kraigg Brathwaite was particularly unimpressed with his side’s batting performance.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, India scored at a brisk rate, courtesy of debutant Prithvi Shaw. The youngster led the charge with a fabulous century on debut, which came faster than a-run-a-ball after which the captain Virat Kohli continued his sparkling form from the England Test series, notching up his 24th Test century.

The all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also brought up his maiden Test century at his home ground, much to the delight of the fans and the dressing room while the contributions from Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant meant India declared the first innings with a mammoth 649 on the board.

Windies bulldozed by spinners

The Windies crumbled in reply, losing wickets at regular intervals. Mohammed Shami got the first couple of breakthroughs for India, and thereafter the spinners took charge. Ravichandran Ashwin, returning from an injury, bagged a four-wicket haul. The Windies were skittled out for just 181 runs in the first innings. Even in their second essay, the batsmen didn’t learn and threw their wickets away and could only muster for 196 runs.

Evidently, Kraigg Brathwaite was disappointed by the way his team approached the game.  He felt that the lack of partnerships was the reason for their poor show while also informing that he is not sure about the regular skipper Jason Holder getting fit for the next Test.

“Not the best of starts, credit to India. They showed us how to bat. Quite disappointed. Didn’t get enough partnerships as a batting unit. Two or three partnerships would hold us very well. One thing we said in our meeting was to be as positive as possible. Not sure if Holder will be fit for the next game,” he said in the post-match press conference.

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