Key Points

Since earning his debut cap in the opening Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England earlier this year, Sudharsan has exuded his brilliance in patches. Apart from notching a 61-run knock on Manchester's benign surface in the fourth Test against England, the young southpaw has perished before hitting the significant digits.

After floundering on 7(19) on Ahmedabad's green strip in the series opener against the Caribbean side, Sudharsan cashed in on the national capital's batting-friendly conditions and tormented the tourists. With a watchful eye, the 23-year-old produced sublime strokes to engineer a composed 87(165) before being pinned in front of the stumps by opposition vice-captain Jomel Warrican.

"It was a good contribution, a good partnership between me and Jaiswal. Hopefully, we'll have longer first innings and bowl out twice. Definitely, I wasn't thinking about getting runs, so I was a bit freer, expressed a bit more well, and took time rather than rushing things. I let things happen, and I didn't try to make things happen. I am grateful for whatever I've done, but there's always a monkey in our mind to make a lot more, happy with the runs, but would want to make more," Sudharsan said after India ended the opening day on 318/2.

During Sudharsan's stay at the crease, he stitched up a 193-run partnership with Jaiswal to keep the scoreboard ticking. While Jaiswal had a touch of flamboyance in his shots, Sudharsan was calmer in his approach. While watching Jaiswal pierce through the West Indies attack from the non-striker's end, Sudharsan gained more awareness of shot selection.

"It's fascinating and thrilling to watch him bat from the other end; he plays fantastic shots and converts good balls into boundary balls, which is great to see. He's giving me awareness on which shots to play (on batting with Jaiswal). There is no competition there. I'm learning what shot to play, and the awareness of converting good ones into boundary ones," he added.

After Sudharsan's dismissal, skipper Shubman Gill joined hands with Jaiswal on the crease. The duo ensured India walked out of the day unscathed, as India concluded the day with a commanding position.

- ANI