Second Test: Shubman Gill hits ton as another early finish looms

New Delhi: After India sent the West Indies bowlers on a leather hunt yet again, Shubman Gill made a bold declaration at 518/5 an hour after lunch on the second day itself.

Despite plenty of time remaining to collect more personal milestones — sublime Gill was batting on 129 — the skipper decided to unleash his bowlers on the battered visitors in hope of sealing another quick win.

Apart from West Indies batters being in miserable form, Gill and a few other members of the Test team are scheduled to depart for Australia right after the Test for a limited-overs tour of Australia — three ODIs and five T20Is — starting October 18. A couple of extra days at home, especially for Gill who has been playing non-stop cricket since the turn of the year, is priceless. This could have been the logic behind it. 

However, West Indies, led by gusty knocks from Alick Athanaze (41) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (34), caught Gill and the Indian bowlers by surprise with a doughty fightback that brought momentary joy on the faces of the legendary duo of Brian Lara and Viv Richards who were seated in the stands at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Momentary because both the batters, who exhibited courage that has been conspicuously absent from West Indies cricket for a long time, perished right after promising starts. And, at stumps on the second day of the second Test, the script remained the same, West Indies in trouble at 140/4 — trailing India by massive 378 runs.

Like in the opening Test at Ahmedabad, Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj came charging out of the blocks. Bumrah, who loves bowling to left-handers as his natural delivery shapes away from them, troubled openers John Campbell and Chanderpaul with balls whizzing past their edges constantly. Siraj too teased and tested, but luck, very essential when the chips are down, was with the West Indies openers, and they managed to survive the tough phase.

Gill then quickly summoned his ace spinner Ravindra Jadeja as early as the eighth over, and the left-armer delivered with his second ball, sending Campbell back after the batter’s thumping sweep shot stunningly found short-leg fielder Sai Sudharsan. One reckoned a collapse from there, but Athanaze and Chanderpaul took the fight to the Indians. They figured attack is the best form of defence, and they never allowed Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar to settle into any sort of rhythm. Both employed the sweep shot to great effect, leaving the Indian spinners scratching their heads in shock.

Despite the counter-attack, the Indians stuck to their guns, knowing one opening was all they needed to rock the ship. And it came in the 28th over, who again but Jadeja at the centre of it. He tossed the ball nicely, drawing Chanderpaul forward, KL Rahul completing a catch at slip to snap the partnership at 66 runs. Athanaze soon joined Chanderpaul in the dressing room, his attempted slog-sweep off Kuldeep lobbing the ball straight to Jadeja at midwicket. 

Skipper Roston Chase, who has been at a loss of words to describe the West Indies’ repeated failures, lasted a mere seven balls as the West Indies collapsed from 87/2 to 107/4. The Indians, however, couldn’t make further inroads, but they’ll be confident of mopping things up early on Sunday morning.

Earlier in the day, Gill extended his exceptional year with a superb unbeaten century that showed India’s hunger for a massive win. Barring a mix-up with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second over of the day, Gill was at his elegant best. Along with Nitish Kumar Reddy first and then in the company of Dhruv Jurel, he maintained a high tempo to the innings that allowed them the luxury of making an early declaration.