With 327 runs in the day against a toothless West Indies bowling attack, India pushed on to 448/5, extending their lead to 286, with five first innings wickets in hand. The show of strength has placed India on course to end the streak of three straight home defeats (against New Zealand) potentially on the third day itself
Indian batters would have loved a few more people present to celebrate a landmark-laden day. But Ahmedabadis, presumably exhausted after long Garba nights, didn’t show much enthusiasm for cricket.
In a rare instance (it last happened in 2018), three centuries were registered on the same day as KL Rahul (100), Dhurv Jurel (125) and Ravindra Jadeja (104*) feasted on the West Indies bowling. After scoring big, they celebrated with gusto. Rahul with a child-like gesture while dedicating his hundred to his toddler, Jadeja with the signature sword show and Jurel, son of a Kargil war veteran, with a salute for the Indian Army.
The Day 2 pitch had eased up with the sun beating down on Friday. But the spinners were still in play as the pacers had roughed up certain parts of the pitch. West Indies had two left-arm spinners in Jomel Warrican and Khary Pierre to exploit just that. But neither was able to extract any bite to trouble the Indian batting.
The stronger teams in Ranji Trophy would know all about it. Runs coming with considerable ease against an underweight bowling attack in front of vast swathes of empty stands. Shubman Gill’s mental framework might just have slipped into that mode, when he attempted a reverse sweep against the turn off Roston Chase’s around the wicket angle. Caught at slip, Gill fell on 50. Coming off some marathon scores in his last series, the Indian captain would have made a mental note of not slipping up. For not always do runs come easy in Test cricket and when they do, it’s time to make hay.
Other than Gill, KL Rahul, on 100, also had a lapse in concentration. In the first over after lunch, the opener played a lazy drive straight to the hands of short extra-cover. At the time, it appeared the only way for the West Indies to mark their presence. The pitch was, on average, taking a lot more turn – 3 degrees from 2.4 degrees the previous day, but the West Indies spin trio, including captain Roston Chase seemed inclined to bowl defensively
Rahul’s wicket brought Jadeja to the crease to join Jurel. If not for Rishabh Pant’s absence and against a stronger opposition, the duo would not have batted in the top six. But here was their opportunity and competition – of which there is plenty in Indian cricket – can be a driving force.
Jadeja took the onus of attacking spin early in his innings and found immediate success with straight sixes. Once the spinners were hit off their lengths, things became even more easier. Jurel’s innings was a fine display of wearing the bowlers down to bowl to your strengths; his bigger runs came through cuts played with angled blades and flicks, when the bowlers strayed.
“The pitch was good and getting better. There are some wide foot marks from which it was turning. The conversation I had with Jaddu bhai was how we can keep batting with minimal risks,” Jurel told reporters.
Against spin, Jurel was mostly in control, his risks more calculated. This approach may have been contrasting to what Pant might have done. But very few can do what Pant can. And Jurel was sure, just because he was replacing the maverick No 5 in this match, he shouldn’t deviate from his plans to make an impression.
.“I try to control what I can. It’s not in my hands, if I should be played as a pure batter. So I try to score runs whenever I can,” he replied on the possibility of targeting a middle order berth as a pure batter.
This focused approach helped him get to his maiden Test hundred. Backing up his impressive 90 at Ranchi and a crucial 46 at Rajkot against England, last year, Jurel firmed up his status as the best back-up option to Pant.
Jadeja, still at the crease, registered his seventh fifty, two of them hundreds, in the last five Tests. It’s a remarkable sequence of big scores for the all-rounder. Come Saturday, he might be called upon to do his bit as a bowler.
The pacers did the damage in the first innings, now, if India’s spin trio find their bearings, we might be in for an early finish.
