India’s fast bowler Shami Ahmed went one step ahead from his four wickets in the first innings against West Indies by taking five wickets to send the visitors crashing to an innings and 51-run defeat at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday.
Shami finished with nine wickets in a match where fellow debutant Rohit Sharma missed out on a double hundred, but was awarded the man-of-the-match trophy for his knock of 177, which bailed India out of a precarious position of 83 for five in the first innings.
West Indies capitulated in spectacular fashion after India’s overnight batsmen, Rohit and Ravichandran Ashwin (124) had taken India earlier to a position of a win or draw only.
Ashwin, who also took five wickets in the match, reached his second career Test hundred after resuming his innings at 92 coming in at No 8.
Captain MS Dhoni hailed the effort of his three musketeers as he became the captain of a side with eight wins by an innings margin, the joint-highest with Mohammed Azharuddin.
“This was a fantastic performance,” Dhoni said. “Shami bowled in great lengths and lines. He has very good seam positioning. That’s the reason he got nine wickets.”
Dhoni tried to clarify the thinking behind Rohit’s delayed entry into the Test format after a six-year span since his debut in one-day internationals.
“You have to believe in destiny,” he said. “Rohit was set to make his debut long before, but he injured his ankle at Nagpur [in 2011] and missed out. He is enjoying his cricket now and is taking a lot more responsibility, and that is more important.”
Of Ashwin’s play, Dhoni said: “If your 8, 9 and 10 can contribute, it helps a lot. Ashwin batted very well with Rohit. He bowled beautifully, too, and it helps others as well if you are not giving away runs.”
Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, rued the lack of application in batting, but acknowledged that he may have been a batsman short in his lineup.
“We keep singing the same song. We keep getting ourselves in good positions in Test matches, but we give it away,” he said. “Getting bowled out in less than 60 overs is never any good for a Test side. We thought two spinners was the way to go here. We will look at it and come up with the best combination for Mumbai.”
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