Ashwin and Jaiswal stand out in innings win for India in first West Indies Test

Veteran off-spinner picks up 12 wickets in the match after debutant hits ton in Dominica

Yashasvi Jaiswal, left, and Ravichandran Ashwin after India's win in the first Test against the West Indies in Dominica on Friday, July 14, 2023. AFP

India completed an innings victory inside three days against the West Indies in the first Test in Roseau, highlighting the gulf between the sides.

World Test Championship finalists India were too strong for a new-look Caribbean side on a surface that offered turn from the first day.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin proved his match-winning abilities once again as he finished with a 12-wicket match haul to hand the host an innings and 141 run defeat in Dominica.

Ashwin had claimed 5-60 to help skittle out West Indies for 150 in the first innings on a slow, turning track in the first match of the two-Test series.

India amassed 421-5 in reply before declaring their first innings with debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (171), captain Rohit Sharma (103) and Virat Kohli (76) scoring bulk of their runs.

Having conceded a lead of 271, West Indies did even worse in their second innings when they were bundled out for 130.

Ashwin was the wrecker-in-chief again, claiming 7-71 even as Jaiswal was adjudged player-of-the-match.

"Our bowling was superb. Bowling them out for 150 actually set the game for us," Sharma said after their victory.

"On that pitch, we knew we wanted to bat once, bat long."

Sharma was particularly impressed by Jaiswal's temperament on a tough wicket.

“His temperament was tested but at no point did it look like he was panicking,” Rohit said. “I just had to remind him, ‘You belong here.’ My job was to just keep telling him he's done all the hard yards and to enjoy his time in the middle.”

Ashwin, the No1-ranked Test bowler, had a point to prove after being omitted from the World Test Championship final.

“When you have the kind of experience they have on these pitches, it is always a luxury,” Rohit said. “Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja were magnificent, especially Ashwin.”

The match, however, will be remembered for Jaiswal's debut. It capped his stunning rise from the streets to the top of the game.

Jaiswal, 21, moved to Mumbai when he was 12. There he would sell 'pani puri', a traditional Indian snack, for pocket money and sleep in tents until a coach took him under his wing.

The left-handed batsman has impressed in domestic cricket and was adjudged player-of-the-tournament in the Under-19 World Cup in 2020 after which Rajasthan Royals splashed out 24 million Indian rupees ($292,508) to sign him for the Indian Premier League.

With India looking for a left-right combination at the top, especially after Shubman Gill requested to move down to number three, Jaiswal was picked to partner captain Sharma and the debutant impressed immediately at the Windsor Park.