India won by an innings and 272 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Prithvi Shaw
Batter
Bowler
That was a rather sad performance from the Windies, whose approach more than anything else was a big let-down. Not sure how much India can get out of this series as they prepare for their tour down under. Anyway, the visitors can only go upwards from here I guess. That's a wrap from us. It's a goodbye from Sagar Chawla, Akshay Maanay, MS Ramakrishnan, Nikhil Jadhav, Rishi Roy and our scorer Sulthan!
Soham: "Mayank Agrawal should make debut in next match and should replace KL Rahul." - It is very likely that they'll look to test their bench strength.
Suresh: "India's victory was ensured even if we subtract Jaddu's 100. But Shaw's 100 set up the platform for a biiig score. A MoM is his first match would boost up his confidence levels so much!" - It certainly will. A fantastic find for India, and a great performance by Jaddu as well.
Rahul: "Whom to blame for spoiling Sunday's cricket? India's good bowling or Windies' poor batting?" - Mostly the latter.
Prithvi Shaw, Man of the Match: It was a great win for the team, more happy for the team. Can't imagine my debut like this. Whenever you play international cricket, there's always a challenge. Was looking to play my natural game, like I do in first-class.
Kohli (2/2): Jaddu as well, he's scored important runs for us in the past. We believe he can change games for us and have match winning contributions with both bat and ball, he's electrifying in the field anyway. If you see the first innings, the way Shami and Umesh ran in to bowl was really good to see on a pitch that's not giving you much. Shami came in and bowled the way only he can. Spinners are clinical in these conditions anyway. Kuldeep outstanding in the second innings, Ashwin in the first, Jaddu was consistent as always. Over rates had to do a bit with the umpires who were pushing us, with these new rules coming in of not drinking too much water. Was quite difficult for the guys to not drink water for 40-45 minutes. Spinners bowl so much in India, we're never going to fall short of the overs anyway so that's something to consider.
Kohli, India captain (1/2): Don't think you can compare the two conditions (England and India). That was a bigger challenge, something we don't experience day in and day out. Knew when we come back home and the kind of quality we have, we will dominate in these conditions. Guys understand how to play in these conditions and they were clinical. That's not something for me to speak upon (surprised with Windies performance). I'm sure, as a team, they'd want to rectify their errors. We want to improve upon the things we need to do, not focus on what the opposition want to do. Happy that the guys put in a clinical performance. Especially delighted for Prithvi and Jaddu. The way Prithvi dominated on debut was outstanding to see. Easy conditions or not, you still have to go out there and back yourself to dominate. The guy showed he's different quality, which is why he's pushed into the Indian team so quickly. He just grabs his opportunity with both hands. Exciting to see from a captain's point of view.
Brathwaite, WI captain: 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.
Tushar: "For the MoM, heart says Shaw, but mind says Jaddu.."
Kuldeep: It's very difficult to bowl with the red ball straightaway when you are coming from white ball cricket. Sometimes it takes time to adjust. I bowled too full in the first innings, I bowled according to the wicket and the batsman in the second innings. Kookaburra red ball is good to grip. SG is okay at the moment. Ravi Shastri told me to try and bowl from round the wicket. I was happy with that angle. I am more used to the white ball. I am learning and I am happy with the way it all came out.
Ravichandran Ashwin - I wanted to get my drift back, my rhythm back as it's difficult to come back after an injury. I was a bit apprehensive yesterday, feeling a lot better today. I had a good stint at NCA and before that in England. It's a fair amount of difference Kuldeep is talking about, adapting to the SG, Kookaburra and Dukes. The Kookaburra white ball seam is a lot more narrow these days, doesn't swing much and doesn't grip as well. That's where the adaptation is very important, we didn't get much time to do that. Right now I would say Kookaburra red ball is a lot better ball, Dukes is also right up there. Pretty disappointed with the current SG ball. It used to be top-notch, the seam used to stand up strong even after 70-80 overs. It's not the same anymore. I generally believe that in the second innings, the teams put up a better fight and there are a couple of partnerships here and there usually. There was one. This wicket was slightly better, it still is, hence I was surprised, shocked is the wrong word with the amount of attacking shots, the high risk shots that were played against the spinners. Maybe it was their strategy against the spinners but it clearly didn't work this time.
Harsha Bhogle: In just over a day, the West Indies, sorry the Windies, have been bowled out twice on a perfectly good pitch. Just another illustration of the problems facing our game.
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STATS: Here are some numbers for you to munch on, thanks to Deepu Narayanan:
Biggest innings wins for India:
innings & 272 runs v WI, Rajkot, 2018
innings & 262 runs v Afg, Bengaluru, 2018
innings & 239 runs v Ban, Dhaka, 2007
innings & 239 runs v SL, Nagpur, 2017
innings & 219 runs v Aus, Kolkata, 1998
Biggest innings defeats for WI:
innings & 283 runs v Eng, Leeds, 2007
innings & 272 runs v Ind, Rajkot, 2018
innings & 237 runs v Eng, Oval, 1957
innings & 220 runs v SA, Centurion, 2014
innings & 217 runs v Aus, Brisbane, 1932
India's last four home Tests:
Beat SL by innings & 239, Nagpur
Draw v SL, Delhi
Beat Afg by innings & 262, Bengaluru
Beat WI by innings & 272, Rajkot
Windies last seven innings in India:
[Least Recent] 134 (57.2) | 234 (78) | 168 (54.1) | 182 (55.2) | 187 (47) | 181 (48) | 196 (50.5) [Most Recent]
Not once have they outlasted the first new ball.
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Quality and attitude of the opposition aside, there were definite gains for India. Gains in the form of 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw who dazzled on debut with a sizzling hundred. There was Kuldeep Yadav too, who made adjustments to his bowling today after a substandard first innings. He was noticeably bowling a little bit quicker through the air to get the ball to go through nicely, especially on a pitch which was painfully slow. Of course, Windies' fixation with lofted shots was a great help. It was hard to understand that kind of attitude, which was destined to fail against three relentless spinners who know all about these conditions. You'd have imagined that adjustments will be made from one innings to the next, but it didn't happen. Will that happen from one Test to the next?
14:48 Local Time, 09:18 GMT: Back to home comforts and back to creaming hapless opposition. Windies were no match for India at slow, dry Rajkot. On a pitch which, must be said, was very decent to bat on, they've batted twice and still haven't crossed the follow-on score. This is India's biggest ever win in Tests (by innings). It's like England never happened.
Jadeja to Gabriel, out Caught by Kuldeep Yadav!! Mid-on was sent back after the previous boundary, and Gabriel finds him! All over. Bit of flight on middle and leg, Gabriel can't resist, looks to loft but drags it off the inside half. Decent catch from Kuldeep pedaling back. Gabriel c Kuldeep Yadav b Jadeja 4(5) [4s-1]
Jadeja to Gabriel, THATS OUT!! Caught!!
Jadeja to Gabriel, no run, length ball sliding in towards off, gets his bat down straight and defends
Jadeja to Gabriel, FOUR, Shannon Gabriel loves a good slog, we know that. Clears the front leg and swings through the line over mid-on