Former captain Sourav Ganguly praised out the Indian cricket team for their astonishing 318-run victory against the West Indies in the first Test.
“India continued their dominance over West Indies and are all set for a total ‘White Wash’ of the series. This will indeed be an achievement as dominating an opponent in all forms of the game surely needs a certain amount of excellence. After the One Day Internationals and T20 series, the Tests have been no different. It was really heartening to see Indian seamers all fired up in an opponent’s den which had the reputation of producing world-class quicks.” – Ganguly said.
Ganguly went on praising the Indian pacers and especially, Ishant Sharma, who picked up eight wickets in the first Test.
“Jasprit Bumrah has been the main pacer for India for some time now, but it was also nice to see Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma being the perfect foils. Ishant has improved as a Test bowler and his nagging line and length, along with his variation with the old ball, has made him much more effective,” – Ganguly added.
India in their first Test was reeling at 189/6 before Ravindra Jadeja ensured that they reach a good total. The Indian lower order then rallied with the brilliant Ravindra Jadeja who scored a fifty to take India to a good 297.
“One must also mention the efforts of Ravindra Jadeja. He didn’t lose belief even though he hasn’t been a regular in the side lately – be it in ODIs or Tests. He came out and played a terrific knock in the World Cup semifinal and in the first Test too, he delivered when India really needed it,” – Ganguly remarked.
Coming into the Test series, Rahane’s form was a subject of widespread debate but he came out with scores of 81 and 102.
“It was also nice to see Rahane get back among the runs in a big way. He was his usual gritty and dependable self and I am sure that his first Test performance will please him and prove that he is still very good to play for a long time for India. For the West Indies, once again it was a matter of application. Talent is always best expressed through performance and that is the area where the current crop of West Indies players need to focus.” – Ganguly added.
Overall it was not the right call at the toss as they needed to bat first and put runs on the board to test Virat Kohli and his boys. The fast bowling unit, except for Roach and Gabriel did not bother the Indians much and I don’t think that is going to change in the second Test,” – Ganguly concluded.
