St. Kitts and Nevis (Sports Page) – R Ashwin finished with 12 wickets in the match as India beat West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in the first Test at Windsor Park. After debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal‘s 171 enabled India to declare with a lead of 271, Ashwin picked up 7 for 71 as West Indies folded for 130 on the third evening.
With the pitch offering plenty of turn and bounce for spinners, Rohit Sharma had Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja operating in tandem after the fourth over of West Indies’ second innings. The duo didn’t take long to make an impact and, using around-the-wicket angle, they ran through West Indies’ top order. Ashwin dismissed right-handers Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood and Jadeja accounted for left-handers Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Raymon Reifer. That reduced West Indies to 32 for 4 despite Ishan Kishan dropping Brathwaite on zero off Jadeja.
Athanaze and Joshua Da Silva took the side past 50 but their stand was worth only 26 when Mohammed Siraj trapped Da Silva lbw. Athanaze, dropped on 1 by Jaiswal off Ashwin, was trying to stay positive. He had hit a couple of fours in Ashwin’s first spell but the offspinner returned to have him caught at short leg with Jaiswal making no mistake on this occasion.
Summarized scores: India 421 for 5 dec (Jaiswal 171, Rohit 103, Kohli 76) beat West Indies 150 (Athanaze 47, Ashwin 5-60, Jadeja 3-26) and 130 (Athanaze 28, Ashwin 7-71, Jadeja 2-38) by an innings and 141 runs
