Ahmedabad, Oct 3
Riding on centuries from KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravindra Jadeja, India continued to pile the misery on the West Indies by reaching 448/5 in 128 overs and stretching their lead to a daunting 286 runs at stumps on Day Two at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday.
With the West Indies struggling to make breakthroughs, India now hold a firm grip on the contest heading into Day Three. The final session belonged entirely to India, who added 122 runs in 32 overs, with Jurel bringing up his maiden Test century and Jadeja registering his sixth ton in the format.
The pair's 206-run stand for the fifth wicket was the defining passage of play, and despite Jurel falling late in the day, edging a drive to the keeper off Khary Pierre for 125, Jadeja marched on to be unbeaten on 104 and will resume on Day Three alongside Washington Sundar, who's not out on nine.
The final session saw India add 122 runs in 32 overs, with Jurel and Jadeja continuing their attritional yet effective partnership, as the lack of wicket-taking options became evident. Things in the session were slow to begin, with the West Indies not doing much to pick wickets after taking the second new ball, while India weren't attacking much.
Jadeja broke the boundary drought by driving Justin Greaves for four, before Jurel took boundaries via drive, pull, and flick off him and Pierre. Jurel then flicked through mid-wicket for a boundary off Chase to bring up his maiden Test hundred. After that, Jurel signalled a shift in gears by smashing Jomel Warrican for three fours and a six, before falling for 125 and becoming Pierre's first Test wicket.
Jadeja, though, danced down the pitch to heave Warrican for six, and then brought up his second century in the last three Tests to continue his rich vein of form in the format. With India's lead swelling and more batting to come, including seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, India hold a firm grip on the contest while West Indies face a daunting task to stay afloat.
Brief scores:
West Indies 162 trail India 448/5 in 128 overs (Dhruv Jurel 125, Ravindra Jadeja 104 not out; Roston Chase 2-90, Jayden Seales 1-53) by 286 runs
— IANS
Reader Comments
Jurel's innings was absolutely brilliant! To score a maiden Test century under pressure shows tremendous character. The future of Indian cricket looks bright with talents like him. Well done, team! ðŸ‘
Jadeja Sir at it again! His consistency is unbelievable. 6th Test century and still going strong. The partnership with Jurel completely broke the West Indies spirit. Declaration should come soon tomorrow morning.
While the batting has been exceptional, I'm a bit concerned about our bowling attack. We need to ensure we can take 20 wickets on this pitch. The real test will be how our bowlers perform in the second innings.
ð—ªð—µð—®ð˜ ð—® ð—±ð—¼ð—ºð—¶ð—»ð—®ð˜ð—¶ð—»ð—´ ð—½ð—¼ð˜€ð—¶ð˜ð—¶ð—¼ð—»! Lead of 286 runs with 5 wickets still in hand. This is Test cricket at its best - grinding the opposition down. Perfect exhibition of how to build an innings in home conditions. 🇮🇳💪
The West Indies bowling looks really toothless on this pitch. They need to find some inspiration quickly or this match will be over by Day 4. Great to see Test cricket being played in such a magnificent stadium though!
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