WI 0-22 IND: Can India continue their stranglehold over West Indies at Port of Spain?

The last time India lost a Test and a series against West Indies was in 2002.

Indian team began the two-Test series against the West Indies in grand fashion in Dominica by winning the match by innings and 141 runs, showcasing the chasm of talent and abilities between the two teams.

This was the first Test match of the new cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC 2023-25) for both sides and both wanted to begin well.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat first, but surprisingly the pitch prepared for the match was conducive to spin on which Indian spinners Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja ran through the Windies batting.

The hosts could only manage 150 runs with debutant Alick Athanaze top-scoring with 47, while Ravi Ashwin picked 5/60 in the match. in reply, India posted 421/5d with debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 171, captain Rohit Sharma making 103 and Virat Kohli hammering 76 runs.

Much was expected by the West Indies batters in the second do, but Ravi Ashwin picked 7 wickets in the innings to rout the hosts for 130 runs and they lost the match by an inning and 141 runs to go 0-1 down in the two-Test series.

West Indies' fall from grace: India's dominance against the Caribbean in Test Cricket since 2002  

This win by India continued their dominance over the once mighty West Indies side since the turn of the century.

Since 1948, India has played 99 Tests against the West Indies, of which they won 23. West Indies have won 30 matches. The remaining 46 Tests ended in a draw.

The first time India visited West Indies was in 1952 but it took until 1971 for India to register their first series win against the Windies. Overall, India has played 12 Test series in West Indies and has won five of them, with the hosts winning seven.

The last time West Indies defeated India in a Test was in 2002 when the hosts won the five-Test series 2-1 by defeating India in Bridgetown by 10 wickets and in Kingston by 155 runs.

Those proved to be the last Test wins West Indies got over India in either country. After 2002, India and the West Indies played a total of eight Test series, four of which were played in India and four in the West Indies.

India has gone unbeaten in the previous 13 Test matches and four series in the West Indies, winning six and drawing the other seven.

Since then, India has won all the series against the West Indies be it in 2002-03, 2011, 2013, and 2018 in India, or 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2019 in the West Indies.

India has won four of its last six Tests against the West Indies. Two matches have ended in a draw. In three wins, India successfully defended a target. The latest win came in Dominica where the West Indies were routed out for 150 and 130 in response to India’s 421/5d.