Virat Kohli completed a superb double century and Ravichandran Ashwin also reached the three-figure mark as India piled on the agony for the West Indies in the first Test match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here yesterday.
At tea on the second day, India were 512 for 6 in 154 overs with Ashwin unbeaten on 106 and leg-spinner Amit Mishra keeping him company on 23.
Kohli also became the first Indian Test captain to score a double century on foreign soil, reaching 200 at the lunch break with 24 boundaries from his 281-ball stay in the middle. It was also his first double century Tests.
The Indian skipper, however, failed to add to his score and departed immediately when play resumed after lunch, bowled by fast bowler Shannon Gabriel.
Ashwin, who gave the Indian skipper able support from the other end, hit 12 boundaries in 244 balls. He and Kohli figured in a 168-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Among the West Indies bowlers, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo was the most successful with figures of 3/165 from 43 overs at tea.
Right-arm pacer Gabriel was the only other West Indies bowler who has managed to claim wickets so far, with figures of 2/61 from his 20 overs.
It was a tough, fruitless struggle for the other West Indies bowlers with pacers Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite toiling without any success along with off-spinner Roston Chase.
Resuming at the overnight score of 302/4, Kohli and Ashwin proceeded to strenghen India’s position with some sensible batting.
Playing on a pitch well suited for batting under the sunny Carribbean sky, the duo studiously avoided taking too much risk, focussing instead on keeping the run rate ticking on at a steady slow rate.
They were helped on in no small measure by the toothless West Indies bowling attack. Except for Gabriel and Bishoo, the other West Indies bowlers seemed quite ordinary and never looked capable of taking wickets.
Kohli and Ashwin managed to find the gaps at regular intervals and the latter brought up his half-century in style, sending a Brathwaite delivery to the point boundary with a sublime punch off the back foot.
The Indian skipper, who resumed the second day on a personal score of 143, reached the 150-run mark with a superb pull off Gabriel for a boundary.
He registered the highest score by an Indian captain when he reached the 193-run mark, going past the previous mark set by Mohamed Azharuddin, who made 192 against New Zealand at Auckland in February 1990.
The Indian seemed to slow down a bit and became more cautious as the double century approached, eventually reaching the landmark with a single off Chase.




SCOREBOARD AT TEA

India 1st Innings (overnight 302 for 4)
M. Vijay c K. Brathwaite b Gabriel     7
S. Dhawan lbw b Bishoo     84
C. Pujara c K. Brathwaite b Bishoo     16
V. Kohli b Gabriel     200
A. Rahane c Bravo b Bishoo     22
R. Ashwin not out     106
W. Saha st Dowrich b K. Brathwaite     40
A. Mishra not out     23
Extras (b6, lb2, nb6)     14
Total (154 overs, 6 wickets)     512
To bat: I. Sharma, M. Shami, U. Yadav
Fall of wicket: 1-14 (Vijay), 2-74 (Pujara), 3-179 (Dhawan), 4-236 (Rahane), 5-404 (Kohli), 6-475 (Saha).
Bowling: S. Gabriel 20-5-61-2 (4nb), J. Holder 24-4-83-0 (2nb), C. Brathwaite 22-5-67-0, R. Chase 34-3-102-0, D. Bishoo 43-1-163-3, K. Brathwaite 11-1-28-1.
Toss: India
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Ian Gould (ENG)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SLA)