The first day of the Test match between the West Indies and Australia at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, witnessed a dramatic collapse of the Australian batting lineup, followed by a shaky response from the West Indies batsmen. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Australia were bundled out for a meager 180, thanks to a brilliant display of pace bowling by Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph. However, the West Indies found themselves in a precarious position at the end of the day, losing four wickets for just 57 runs.

Seales was the pick of the West Indies bowlers, claiming his third Test five-wicket haul, all of which have come on home soil. Joseph, who famously troubled the Australian batsmen in the previous encounters, continued his impressive form, taking four wickets. Together, they exploited the tricky pitch conditions, extracting seam and swing movement that the Australian batsmen found difficult to handle. Only Travis Head managed a notable score of 59, including nine boundaries, before edging behind off Justin Greaves. The remaining batsmen struggled to reach double figures, highlighting the dominance of the West Indies' pace attack. The Australian innings wrapped up inside 57 overs, marking their lowest first-innings total against the West Indies in recent history.

The West Indies' reply started poorly as Mitchell Starc removed both openers early on. Kraigg Brathwaite fell for 4 and John Campbell departed for 7, both caught behind. The hosts lost two more wickets before the close of play, with Pat Cummins dismissing Keacy Carty for 20 and Josh Hazlewood removing nightwatchman Jomel Warrican for a duck. At the close of play, Brandon King, who is making his test debut, remained unbeaten on 23, alongside new captain Roston Chase, who is playing his first test since March 2023.

The fall of 14 wickets on the first day highlighted the challenging conditions for batting, with the pacers on both sides finding plenty of assistance from the pitch. The West Indies bowlers deserve credit for their disciplined performance, but the batsmen need to show more resilience and application to capitalize on the advantage gained. The West Indies will need King and Chase to build a substantial partnership to get closer to Australia's first innings total.