Australia consolidates their top position in ICC World Test Championship Table

Australia easily defeated the West Indies in the first Test, winning by 164 runs. The hosts dominated the game for three days before the visitors tried to take the game deep on the fourth day, with skipper Kraigg Brathwaite’s superb century. However, he was unable to maintain the same momentum on the last day, allowing Australia to retake the lead and finally win the game. Skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first, and his decision paid off well for Australia, who established possession from the start.

Though the West Indies managed to take an early wicket when Jayden Seales removed David Warner, the bowlers were unable to recover after dealing Australia an early blow. The batting was then controlled by Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, who both scored double-hundreds before Australia declared on the second day of the Test at 598/4. West Indies got off to a good start with half-centuries from openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul, but their dismissal ruined their run as they were dismissed for 283 runs, giving Australia the lead.

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Australia rode Labuschagne’s red-hot form in their second innings as well, as he compiled another century before declaring the second innings, scoring 182/2. Before the West Indies began their last chase, the hosts held a whopping 497-run lead. With over two days to go, the hosts got off to a strong start as openers Brathwaite and Chanderpaul shared a 116-run stand. West Indies lost several wickets on the final day before Roston Chase and Alzarri Joseph put on an 82-run stand for the eighth wicket. However, their efforts were in fruitless as Lyon performed the heavy lifting with the ball and Australia won by 164 runs.