With a healthy lead of 120 runs, India hold a firm advantage over the West Indies, keeping in mind the pattern of pitch-behaviour which could hamper batting anytime soon.
On Day 2, Sharma buried his inconsistent past in limited-overs cricket with a classical unbeaten century (127*) to launch his Test career in style. In the process, he became only the third Indian batsman after Deepak Sodhan (110 vs Pakistan in 1952) and Mohammad Azharuddin (110 vs England, 1984) to hit a century on debut at the hallowed Eden Gardens.
It was a baptism by spin for Sharma, who replaced his mentor Sachin Tendulkar at the crease with India reeling at 82/4 and West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford threatening to run through the innings.
For the next four hours and 45 minutes, the gifted 26-year-old right-hander put his head down, played every ball on merit and built partnerships.
Sharma found a good ally in skipper MS Dhoni (42) with whom he added 73 runs for the sixth wicket before linking up with Ashwin, who looks good enough not only for a few more but also for making the bowling all-rounder's slot his own in the near future.
Sharma's century on debut will be long remembered as he bailed his side out of deep trouble, while Ashwin has once again shown his capabilities with the bat.
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