Captain Shubman Gill led the way with his 10th century to consolidate India’s position before giving spinner Ravindra Jadeja enough time to put West Indies on the defensive on day two of the second Test here on Saturday.
Gill (129 not out) reached his century in the post-lunch session and declared the Indian innings at 518 for five, one hour into the afternoon session.
Though the pitch did not have any significant wear and tear, it was good enough for Ravindra Jadeja (3/37) to work his magic in tandem with Kuldeep Yadav (1/45), reducing West Indies to 140 for four in 43 overs as Viv Richards and Brian Lara watched in dismay from the stands.
John Campbell would consider himself extremely for the way he got dismissed. His full-blooded sweep, which should have gone for a boundary, rammed into Sai Sudharsan's knuckle and got stuck as he was trying an evasive action. But Tagenarine Chanderpaul (34) and Alick Athanaze (41) added 66 runs before Jadeja and Kuldeep struck in quick succession.
Chanderpaul perished while trying to open the face of the bat as he dabbed one down to third man and was caught in slips by KL Rahul. Athanaze played a lofted shot when Kuldeep baited him, and Jadeja took the catch at mid-wicket. Skipper Roston Chase (0) then offered a simple return catch to Jadeja.
The second day was largely about Gill, who faced 196 deliveries, hit 16 boundaries and two sixes, adding 91 for the fourth wicket with Nitish Kumar Reddy (43) and 102 for the fifth wicket with Dhruv Jurel (44). India batted for 44.2 overs on the second day and added 200 runs to the overnight score of 318 for two.
Gill's century came with a cut off Khary Pierre that got him three runs. With his fifth century in the last seven Tests, apart from a half-century in the previous game, the skipper showed that captaincy has not affected the batsman in him. Even as Yashasvi Jaiswal (175, 258 balls) was unfortunately run-out at the start of the day, Gill's concentration didn't waver as he controlled the tempo of the game.
When the field was brought up, he hit over the top, and when West Indies skipper Chase packed the off-side field, he played on the on-side. After a flurry of boundaries, Chase was forced to keep a deep point and a deep square leg to cut down on boundaries. This helped Gill use the wide gaps to take singles and doubles.
The best shot of the morning session and that too by a distance was the one which brought up Gill's second fifty of the series. With a packed off-side field, Jayden Seales bowled on middle-leg with Gill flicking it through the vacant mid-wicket region. When Justin Greaves was brought into the attack, his lack of pace allowed Gill to step out and loft him over mid-wicket for his first six. Gill, who had decided to defend during the final hour of the opening day, clearly came out with a different mindset.
Brief scores:
India 1st innings: 518 for 5 in 134.2 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 175, Shubman Gill 129 not out; Jomel Warrican 3/98) West Indies 1st innings: 140 for 4 in 43 overs (Alick Athanaze 41, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 34; Ravindra Jadeja 3/37)
Also read: Jaiswal puts India in driver’s seat against clueless Windies
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