Antigua: India opener Shikhar Dhawan has praised Test captain Virat Kohli for providing a solid base to the innings with his 12th century on day one of the opening match against the West Indies in Antigua.
Kohli continued his sublime form as he scored an unbeaten 143 to guide India to a commanding 302 for four at the end of day’s play at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday.
Opting to bat first, India were troubled by a disciplined West Indies bowling unit early in the innings, leaving the tourists in a spot of bother at 74 for two in 27.4 overs.
However, Dhawan collaborated with Kohli as the duo engineered a 105-run stand for the third wicket to solidify the total.
“He has played a tremendous knock and scored a hundred and continued scoring,” Dhawan was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “Hopefully he scores big runs and gets a double-hundred after 150. It feels good to bat with him and we were rotating strike and scoring runs at a good pace. I feel that made a difference because we made the partnership in 120 balls or something. That is a good thing and it is always a pleasure to watch Virat, the way he times the ball.”
The left-hander batsman, who was dismissed for 84, also said that India were in a ‘good position’ especially because they are playing five specialist bowlers for the opening Test of the four-match series.
“We are in a good position especially because we are playing with only five batsmen,” Dhawan said. We will want to bat as long as possible tomorrow, that will also tire them out. Good thing is we have Virat set and batting.” (ANI)