Dhawan, Kohli steer India to 179/3

Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli scored attacking fifties as India breezed to 179 for 3 at tea on day one of the first Test against the West Indies here today.
At the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Dhawan (84) and Kohli (65 batting) put up 105 runs for the third wicket as the visitors took control on the opening day.
India were placed at 72/1 at lunch, and Dhawan walked out with Cheteshwar Pujara (16) after the break. The number three batsman had done all the hard work in the first session, seeing off shine of the ball and looked to attack against the slower bowlers. But he was too eager to get going in this second session and threw away his hard work almost immediately as play began.

Devendra Bishoo (2/47) was brought in to bowl after lunch, and on the very fourth delivery of his first over, Pujara played too early and simply lobbed the ball to point for an easy catch. He only added two runs to his score.
Kohli then came to the crease and assumed control of the innings. He didn't attack overtly, finding a nice balance with his defensive work and was quickly off the mark. Shannon Gabriel (1/29) bowled a short spell but was not able to trouble the batsmen after the spell earlier in the first session, even as Kohli quickly moved pass the 3000-run mark in Test cricket with his first boundary.

The Indian skipper smacked another five boundaries in his fifty that he reached off just 75 balls. In doing so, he kept the scorecard moving and took pressure off Dhawan after Pujara's fall.

The left-hander had reached his third half-century off 84 balls post-lunch, and looked to solidify his position at the crease. He left as many deliveries as possible but still brought out the attacking shots whenever warranted. The stand-out stroke was a cut-shot over the slip cordon for six off Gabriel.
Bishoo was erratic in his line and length, not helped perhaps by the left-right combination at the crease and runs flowed easily. The duo brought up their 50-partnership in the 41st over and the 100-mark in the 53rd over, as the next fifty runs came off just 12 overs. Just as they looked comfortable enough to go into the tea break, the leg-spinner trapped Dhawan in front of the wicket and got the breakthrough West Indies wanted.

Umesh Yadav and Mohd. Shami joined Ishant Sharma in the pace department, while R Ashwin and Amit Mishra are the spin options. West Indies handed a debut to Roston Chase, picking seven full-time batsmen, and left out fast bowler Miguel Cummins.
Murali Vijay (7) and Dhawan started off then, with Gabriel and skipper Jason Holder (0-33) starting the proceedings for the hosts. The West Indies had come out with a clear ploy and made good use of the new ball on a fresh first morning pitch. Holder was the first one to test Dhawan with a short ball, and soon it became clear what plans they had set for the left-handed opener.

Soon after, Gabriel worked up his pace and started bowling some testing deliveries to Dhawan. There were a couple lobs and edges, but luckily enough they didn't go to any of the fielders. The difference in pace between the two bowlers allowed Dhawan to ease off against Holder. Meanwhile, Vijay looked comfortable at the crease, leaving as many deliveries as possible.
The hosts kept up with the plan though, as Gabriel started hitting the deck hard and getting sharp bounce on the odd delivery. And it was surprisingly good bounce that got Vijay, as he looked to play at one outside the off stump, only for the ball to kiss his glove and loop up to second slip where Kraigg Brathwaite caught it at after a little fiddling.

Pujara then came out to bat at number three, and never looked in any discomfort. That was particularly because West Indies decided to bring on debutant Chase (0-30) to bowl in the 12th over. His gentle off-breaks didn't pose much threat to the batsmen, and Pujara in particular to attack him. But he was given good cover to block off the drives and didn't bleed too many runs.
The 50-mark came up for India in the 24th over as Carlos Brathwaite (0-35) came on to bowl, and Dhawan-Pujara brought up the 50-partnership for the 2nd wicket off 118 balls, just before the lunch break.