Every run you score for the country is important – Rohit Sharma on India’s clinical triumph over West Indies in the curtain-raiser

India had a fairytale ending to what seemed like a skewed contest as they rampaged West Indies in the opening Test of a two-match series without breaking a sweat. Ravichandran Ashwin clinched 12 wickets in the match to give India an edge in their bowling department while Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal led the show with the bat, scoring centuries in the first innings for India. Virat Kohli chimed in with a crucial 76 that allowed India to pile up a mammoth lead of 271 runs in the first innings.

Talking at the post-match conference, Rohit spoke about how India completely outplayed West Indies while also reserving heavy praise for Ashwin and Jaiswal. He also made it a point to talk about the declaration, allowing the fans to know about what was the exact mindset in the Indian dressing room before they went for the kill.

He started by talking about the match, stating, “Every run you score for the country is important. I would like to start by saying it was a great effort with the ball. Getting them out for 150 set the game for us. We knew batting would get tough, it wasn't easy to score runs. We knew we wanted to bat only once and bat long. Get over 400 runs and then we came out and bowled really well.”

Raving about debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brilliance, Rohit said, “He has the talent, he has shown us in the past that he is ready, came and batted sensibly. The temperament was also tested, at no stage he was panicking. The chats we had were to remind him that 'you belong here. You have done the hard yards, enjoy your time here'.”

He also opened up on the declaration part, stating, “I was just letting them know we have an over or so before declaring. I wanted Ishan to get off the mark, wanted to tell him to get his personal mark and then we had to declare. I could see that he was always eager to bat, it could be frustrating for them.”

The Indian skipper also shed some light on the duo of Ashwin and Jadeja who were instrumental with the ball, adding, “The results speak for themselves, they have been doing it for a while. There isn't much to tell them, it is about giving them the freedom to express. The experience these guys have on pitches like this is always a luxury. Both Ash and Jadeja were superb, especially Ashwin for coming out and bowling this way was class.”

Rohit concluded by talking about starting off the new WTC cycle with a win, stating, “Always nice to start well, it is a fresh cycle. We weren't too worried about the pitch, we wanted to come here and get results. Important to start well, now about taking that momentum into the 2nd Test. There are a couple of new guys and people who haven't had much Test cricket, so just about getting them out on the field now.”