WI v IND | We must also mention the efforts of Ravindra Jadeja in first Test win, writes Sourav Ganguly
In his column for the Times of India, Sourav Ganguly wrote that the story of India’s 318-run win must not be told without including Ravindra Jadeja’s feat with the bat in the first innings of Test. India were in a spot of bother when Jadeja walked into bat and hit a composed half-century.
The former captain commended the Indian cricket team for their stupendous win against the West Indies in the first Test. But while all the media attention has been in the direction of either Jasprit Bumrah’s five-fer or Ajinkya Rahane’s man-of-the-match performance, Ganguly pointed out the importance of Jadeja’s 58-run knock that took India from 189 for six through to a respectable first-innings total of 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 wrote, reported TOI.
Ganguly noted that team India is set for a special ‘whitewash’ of the West Indies if they win the second Test match in Jamaica as well. So far in the tour, the visitors are yet to lose a single encounter across all three formats.
"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," he wrote.
Ganguly pointed out that despite always having talent in their kitty, the West Indians have not been able to express any of it out on the field.
“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. 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.
Ganguly also lauded the Indian pacers – singling out Ishant Sharma, who picked up eight wickets in the first Test – and Ajinkya Rahane who notched up his 10th Test century. The second of the two matches will start from Friday at Sabina Park in Jamaica.