From left: KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja.
Credit: PTI Photo
Ahmedabad: KL Rahul ended his agonisingly long wait for a second century at home while vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja and wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel too feasted on below-par West Indies bowling with attacking tons as India tightened the noose around the necks of their opponents in ruthless fashion here on Friday.
The seasoned Rahul, who has been in brilliant form since the start of the England series after regaining his favoured opening slot, smashed an exact 100 off 197 balls — his first century at home since the epic 199 against England in Chennai in December 2016 — to lay the platform for the middle order to go and put the hapless West Indies through the wringers at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
With conditions ideal for batting, the 24-year-old Jurel, coming in place of Rishabh Pant who is yet to recover from the right foot fracture he suffered in the fourth Test at Old Trafford against England, gave another exhibition of his wonderful batting abilities with a free-flowing 125 (210b) — his maiden Test century that should do his confidence a world of good.
Possibly enjoying the best phase of his cricketing life, the 36-year-old Jadeja extended his purple patch with the bat with a brilliantly crafted unbeaten 104 off 176 balls — his sixth century — as India posted 448/5 at stumps on the second day — a whopping lead of 286 runs that has firmly put them on course to taking a 1-0 series lead possibly as early as the third day.
With India resuming the second morning already in a commanding position of 121/2, West Indies needed an extremely disciplined performance with the ball and some luck if they were to make a match out of it. It looked like there was some fire in the belly of West Indies as pacers Jayden Seales and Justin Greaves elicited an edge off Rahul. Lady Luck though shone on Rahul as the first edge dissected the gap between keeper and wide first slip while the second fell just short of gully. That was perhaps the only phase where West Indies looked competitive.
Rahul and his overnight partner Shubham Gill, following the tense opening half-hour, then started to dictate play. Both went for their shots, hardly allowing any of the West Indies bowlers to settle into any sort of rhythm. Rahul even employed a reverse sweep to show the confidence that’s oozing through his veins. The reverse sweep, however, ended up becoming Gill’s undoing. Having watched it from the non-striker’s end, the skipper too attempted the same but ended up lobbing the ball to Greaves at slip off Roston Chase.
Rahul, though, motored on smoothly without any hiccups. Shots flowed all around the ground and just before lunch he brought up his 11th Test century, celebrating the landmark with fingers inside his mouth. A second ton at home was something he was craving for and the relief was evident on his face. The right-hander, though, couldn’t convert it into something big, getting out right after the break with an expansive cover drive.
If the West Indies hoped Rahul’s dismissal against the run of play would give them an opening, it was not to be as Jadeja arrived and started smashing everything in his sight. The southpaw used his feet superbly against the spinners to ensure the momentum stayed with the Indians.
That confidence rubbed on to Jurel also, who looked busy from the moment he took strike. Just like most wicketkeepers in the world, he took his chances but was wise enough to pick the right balls to play the big shots. There were hardly any false shots, both from him and Jadeja, and the duo just kept heaping misery upon misery on the West Indies.
SCORE BOARD WEST INDIES (I Innings): 162 INDIA (I Innings O/n: 121/2): Jaiswal c Hope b Seales 36 (54b 7x4) Rahul c Greaves b Warrican 100 (197b 12x4) Sudharsan lbw Chase 7 (19b) Gill c Greaves b Chase 50 (100b 5x4) Jurel c Hope b Pierre 125 (210b 15x4 3x6) Jadeja (batting) 104 (176b 6x4 5x6) Sundar (batting) 9 (13b) Extras (B-12 LB-3 NB-1 W-1) 17 TOTAL (for 5 wkts 128 overs) 448 Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Jaiswal) 2-90 (Sudharsan) 3-188 (Gill) 4-218 (Rahul) 5-424 (Jurel). Bowling: Seales 19-2-53-1 Layne 15-0-38-0 (w-1) Greaves 12-4-59-0 (nb-1) Warrican 29-5-102-1 Pierre 29-1-91-1 Chase 24-3-90-2.