India defeated West Indies by an innings and 272 runs in the first Test at Rajkot thanks to some brilliant performances from the batsmen and bowlers.

While Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja scored brilliant centuries; R Ashwin picked four wickets in the first innings and Kuldeep Yadav picked his maiden fifer in Tests in the second innings, along with Jadeja’s three wickets.

In an interview after the match R Ashwin put forth his views about the quality of balls used in Tests and which company balls he preferred and Ashwin mentioned that Kookaburra balls are better.

He said, “I wanted to get my drift back, my rhythm back as it's difficult to come back after an injury. I was a bit apprehensive yesterday, feeling a lot better today. I had a good stint at NCA and before that in England. It's a fair amount of difference Kuldeep is talking about, adapting to the SG, Kookaburra and Dukes. The Kookaburra white ball seam is a lot more narrow these days, doesn't swing much and doesn't grip as well. That's where the adaptation is very important, we didn't get much time to do that. Right now I would say Kookaburra red ball is a lot better ball, Dukes is also right up there.”

He added, “Pretty disappointed with the current SG ball. It used to be top-notch, the seam used to stand up strong even after 70-80 overs. It's not the same anymore. I generally believe that in the second innings, the teams put up a better fight and there are a couple of partnerships here and there usually. There was one. This wicket was slightly better, it still is, hence I was surprised, shocked is the wrong word with the amount of attacking shots, the high risk shots that were played against the spinners. Maybe it was their strategy against the spinners but it clearly didn't work this time.”

(Inputs Cricbuzz)