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Virat Kohli’s scintillating ton shows mediocre West Indies bowing attack their true worth

Virat Kohli powered his way to his 12th ton in the first Test against West Indies.

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Virat Kohli looked at his very best on his way to yet another ton on Day 1 of the first Test against West Indies © AFP
Virat Kohli looked at his very best on his way to yet another ton on Day 1 of the first Test against West Indies © AFP

India skipper Virat Kohli once again led from the front with a magnificent century on Day One of the first Test against West Indies, to put his team in command. Right from the moment Kohli walked into the middle, he showed no signs of anxiety or nervousness and went on with his business with minimal fuss. His positive approach was soothing to watch as a few of his colleagues went back into the hut after playing some rash shots. West Indies picked up four wickets to their credit — something that perhaps should not have happened — given the experience and firepower they have in their bowling department. West Indies, by no stretch of imagination, have a world-class bowling attack and Kohli dished out to them only what they deserved. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs West Indies 2016, 1st Test at Antigua

Cheteshwar Pujara looked to put pressure on the spinner Devendra Bishoo right from his first over and paid the price top-edging one to the cover fielder. Ajinkya Rahane too pulled a ball from well outside off to be caught at mid-wicket. With just a couple of deliveries to go before the tea interval, Dhawan went for an extravagant sweep and was adjudged leg-before for 84. All three batsmen fell to Bishoo. They would have certainly asked themselves if there was a need to play those shots in those situation. IND vs WI Live Streaming: Watch live telecast on Ozee.com

Kohli, on the other hand, was in no mood to relinquish his wicket after getting off to a good start. He got to his fifty of 75 deliveries and 59 deliveries later he scored his 12th Test ton. The pitch did have some grass on it and should have ideally assisted the fast bowlers. Barring Shannon Gabriel, no fast bowler in the West Indies team can hit that 145-150 kmph mark. The ball to dismiss Murali Vijay was a peach, no one can take that away from him. The likes of Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite, however, failed to capitalise on the conditions and make any sort of impact. READ: Virat Kohli’s fluent century guides India to 302-4 at stumps against West Indies on Day 1, 1st Test at Antigua

Be it his elegant drives off the front foot or his pull shots, Kohli never looked in any sort of trouble. One can argue that Kohli is in the form of his life and hence makes everything look so easy. With all due respect to him, he is helped a great deal by the mediocre West Indies bowling attack. Ravichandran Ashwin is a technically sound batsman, but he showed that if you apply yourself and be patient, you can get runs, which is something that Pujara or Rahane could have done. West Indies, in fact, struggled to dismiss him as well! Full updates: India vs West Indies, 1st Test at Antigua, Day 1

But the day belonged to Kohli. This is perhaps his best chance to make a huge score. West Indies on the other hand will hope to force the issue in the coming days not wait for the Indian batsmen to make a mistake.

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at Cricketcountry.com. He is a sport enthusiast and a keen observer of cricket, the contests, and its personalities. When not tracking cricket, he follows the world’s soccer leagues and is somewhat partial towards Liverpool. His Twitter handle is @pramz)

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