NORTH SOUND (ANTIGUA), July 23: Virat Kohli became the first Indian captain to score a double century abroad as the visitors took firm control of the first Test against the West Indies with a solid batting display here.
Kohli (200 off 283 balls) eased to his maiden double hundred before Ashwin (113 off 253) struck his third Test ton to help India amassed 566 for eight declared, and then reduce the West Indies to 31 for one in 16 overs at the end of the second day�s play.
Kohli is now tied with Mohammad Azharuddin for most centuries (5) by an Indian captain abroad.
With India declaring post tea, pacer Mohammad Shami, who is back in action after a long layoff, removed Rajendra Chandrika before the close of play on day two.
The hosts trail India by 535 runs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
A sloppy effort in the field also made matters worse for the home team.
India, who began the day at 302 for four, were allowed to score freely by the West Indian bowlers, so much so that tail-ender Amit Mishra raced to 53 off 68 balls towards the end of the innings, lasting 161.5 overs.
The visitors continued to bat on after being placed at 512/6 at tea, and Ashwin came out again with Mishra. While the former was accounted for Kraigg Brathwaite, Mishra went on to play some attacking strokes and reached his 4th Test half-century off 67 balls.
Mishra was out immediately afterwards, holing out to midwicket off Brathwaite again, as the innings was declared closed in the 162nd over.
Shami was the unbeaten batsman on 17, and he made good use of being dropped twice to strike some lusty blows.
The West Indies� openers nearly saw out the testing overs before the close of play. Both Chandrika (16) and Brathwaite (11 not out) didn�t seem to be looking for runs, and instead decided to play for time, leaving as many deliveries as possible. Just as they looked set to finish the day without loss, Shami managed to induce an edge off Chandrika, who was caught behind.
Earlier, Ashwin put on 71 runs with Wriddhiman Saha (40 runs) in the post-lunch session. Their stand came after Kohli had scored his maiden Test double hundred to put his side in command.
Kohli recorded his highest first-class total going past 197 runs. He overcame Azharuddin�s long-standing record of 192 against New Zealand scored in February 1990.
The Indian captain was perhaps looking to bat longer after the lunch break, but didn�t last long as Shannon Gabriel (2-65) finally broke the 168-run stand with Ashwin.
Kohli played onto his stumps off the second ball of the second session, and was dismissed for an exact 200 runs with his knock comprising 24 fours.
Saha then joined Ashwin and the two continued to frustrate the West Indies� bowling. At the same time, the hosts didn�t show much intention to get into the Indian tail, perhaps resigned to the fact that the only end to their time in the field was a declaration.
Saha started off slow but quickly gained momentum as Roston Chase (0-102) and Kraigg Brathwaite (3-65) were brought on in tandem. The runs came off easily, and they brought up the 450-mark in the 139th over. Their 50-stand came off 120 balls, after which Saha was stumped off Brathwaite, going for an expansive drive.
Ashwin reached his third Test century off 237 balls. Co-incidentally all his three Test hundreds has come against the West Indies. Meanwhile, the 500-mark came up in the 151st over as the visitors looked set for a tall score.
When Gabriel and Jason Holder started off the proceedings on day two morning, the pitch seemed to have eased out considerably as compared to the first morning.
SCORECARD
India 1st innings: M Vijay c KC Brathwaite b Gabriel 7, S Dhawan lbw b Bishoo 84, CA Pujara c KC Brathwaite b Bishoo 16, V Kohli b Gabriel 200, AM Rahane c Bravo b Bishoo 22, R Ashwin not out 106, W Saha st Dowrich b KC Brathwaite 40, A Mishra c Holder b KC Brathwaite 53, M Shami not out 17. Extras: (B-6, LB-2, NB-6) 14. Total: (For 8 wickets decl in 161.5 overs) 566. Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-74, 3-179, 4-236, 5-404, 6-475, 7-526, 8-566. Bowling: ST Gabriel 21-5-61-2, JO Holder 24-4-83-0, CR Brathwaite 25-5-80-0, RL Chase 34-3-102-0, D Bishoo 43-1-163-3, KC Brathwaite 14.5-1-65-3.
West Indies 1st innings: KC Brathwaite not out 11, R Chandrika c Saha b Mohammed Shami 16, D Bishoo not out 0. Extras: (LB 1, W 1, NB 2) 4. Total: (1 wicket; 16 overs) 31. Fall of wickets: 1-30. Bowling: I Sharma 6-3-12-0, U Yadav 4-3-5-0, Mohammed Shami 3-0-6-1, R Ashwin 3-1-7-0. � PTI
