India defeated West Indies by 318 runs on Day 4 of the first Test in North Sound, Antigua on Sunday to take an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series and with this win Indian skipper Virat Kohli equalled Mahender Singh Dhoni's record of 27 Test wins. Kohli has now become the joint-most successful captain for India in Test cricket.
The comprehensive victory also helped Kohli jump ahead of Saurav Ganguly with the most Test wins in overseas matches for India as captain. Kohli now has 12 away wins as captain of Indian Test team in 26 matches, while Ganguly had 11 wins in 28 games.
Most wins as Indian captain in away Tests:
12 Kohli (26 Tests)
11 Ganguly (28)
6 Dhoni (30)
5 Dravid (17)Most wins overall:
27* Kohli (47)
27 Dhoni (60)
21 Ganguly (49)
14 Azharuddin (47)#WIvInd— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) August 25, 2019
The victory against West Indies was Kohli's seventh as captain of Indian Test side outside Asia. Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq holds the records for winning most Tests as captain outside Asia among Asian captains with 8 wins. Ganguly is at the third place with 6 wins.
Winning most Tests as captain away from home (Asian captains)
26 - Misbah-ul-Haq
12 - Virat Kohli
11 - Sourav Ganguly
7 - Wasim Akram/Waqar Younis/Mahela Jayawardene
6 - Salim Malik/MS Dhoni#INDvWI#INDvsWI#WIvInd— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 26, 2019
The victory on Sunday is Kohli's 100th win as Team India captain. Kohli is only the third Indian besides Mohammed Azharuddin and Dhoni to register 100 international wins as skipper.
Virat Kohli wins his 100th match as Team India captain
Under Kohli Team India has won their 12th away Test — an Indian record
Kohli has also captained India to 27 Test wins — the joint-most by any Indian skipper (level with MS Dhoni)#WIvIND— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) August 26, 2019
Talking to reporters after the match, Kohli, 30, did not harp much on the records and said that the team as a whole deserves credit for all the achievements. "It's a responsibility that I'm fulfilling. It's a blessing that I am in a position to contribute to my team in more than one way. Nothing is possible without the team. I am taking the decisions but it is up to the individuals to do the execution," Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
Kohli praised fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma and also lauded Ajinkya Rahane, who batted superbly to hit his 10th Test hundred in India's second innings. "Jinx excellent in both innings, KL solid in both innings too. Mention to Vihari too. We had to come back in this game 3-4 times, so that is a positive. Moving forward from Australia. Bumrah's workload is most important which is why he didn't play any white-ball games after the World Cup. He'll be a key factor for us as long as the World Test Championship continues. Shami is the same and Ishant is a banker, reliable always. Umesh is there too and Navdeep is waiting in the wings. We are settled as our bowling options, but managing workloads will be important," Kohli said.
