North Sound: Ajinkya Rahane's century in the second innings followed by a five-wicket haul from Jasprit Bumrah helped India beat West Indies with ease by 318 runs in the first Test match at North Sound on Sunday. Giving credit to the team for this comprehensive win, captain Virat Kohli said that Jasprit Bumrah will be a key factor for India in the World Test Championship.
"Jinx (Ajinkya Rahane) was excellent in both innings, KL (Rahul) solid in both innings too. Mention to (Hanumant) Vihari too. We had to come back in this game 3-4 times, so that is a positive. Moving forward from Australia," said Kohli, adding that Jasprit Bumrah's workload was most important and that was why he didn't play any white-ball games after the World Cup.
"He'll be a key factor for us as long as the World Test Championship continues. Mohammed Shami is the same and Ishant Sharma is a banker, reliable always. Umesh is there too and Navdeep is waiting in the wings. We are settled as our bowling options, but managing workloads will be important. Vihari got a nod because combination is important. He's an effective part-time bowler and helps us when we need to catch up with the over-rate," said Kohli.
"We have a group discussion and then we decide what's best for the team. There will always be opinions about the XI, but people will know that it's in the interest of the team. It's a blessing that I'm in a position where I can contribute to the team in more than one way, but nothing is possible without your team. I don't think the credit can be taken away from the team at all. I am taking decisions, yes, but execution is done by others who raise their hand. We enjoy everyone's company, and that's the reason for our success," said Kohli, adding that Jamaica would be another opportunity to do a professional performance. "We know WI will come hard at us, and we will try to plug the gaps from this Test."
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane, who was the Man of the Match for scoring 203 183 runs in the Test, said, "Feels special. Getting this hundred after 29 or 30 innings. The first innings was crucial after 20 for 3. We needed a partnership, and the partnership between Rahul and me was crucial. Bowlers delivered well after that, but this hundred was special in the second innings. My time with Hampshire really helped me. I dedicate this hundred to the people who backed me, supported me when I was going through a rough patch. I've been getting 70s, but getting a 100 means a lot to me. I think first day the wicket was damp. West Indies bowled really well in that session. But it was important to play as many balls as possible without thinking about runs. We wanted to bat 90-100 overs in the first innings knowing runs would come. In the 2nd innings, me and Virat wanted to get a good partnership. We wanted to just bat, bat and bat."
West Indies skipper Jason Holder said, "Bowlers did a good effort, but we didn't bat well. Batting issues to sort, going on for too long. Top order not doing well, leaving much for the middle order to do. Wicket was a good wicket, we should've batted better. Ajinkya batted really well, everyone batted around him. It was a difficult wicket to blast players out. I wouldn't question the team selection. We played the same combination in the last series and we did very well. I think we've got to blame our batting performance. We could've put up a much better performance. In hindsight you can say a lot of things, but we players need to take more responsibility. Bumrah bowled really well, one of those spells that will dislodge most top-order players. That said, we need to be a lot better as a batting unit. For Jamaica, it's a place we have found success and our players have done well. Hopefully we can do that."
