The last time had three centurions in a single day of Test cricket wasn’t that long back, on July 27 in Manchester. On that occasion, India mounted a splendid rearguard action to frustrate England’s designs of victory with Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja keeping their tryst with three figures and KL Rahul narrowly missing out, falling for 90.
Gill’s reverse sweep fails
On Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in vastly different circumstances, India again boasted three men who made hundreds on the same day of a Test. Jadeja was the common thread as, with help from Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, he batted the visitors out of the first Test. Day Two was all about supreme domination of the bat against an attack clearly out of its depth; Gill must be kicking himself for having thrown it away, and that too with a needless reverse sweep with the bowling at his mercy.
India’s flexing of their formidable batting muscle took them to an end-of-day tally of 448 for five, already a lead of 286. It’s no longer a question of how much more they need. India’s plans might include getting some meaningful batting time for Washington and Nitish Kumar Reddy so that they tick most batting boxes going into the second Test next week, and into the two-Test series against World Test Championship holders South Africa next month.
has struck a rich vein of form since the England tour in the summer when, for the first time in his career, he made two hundreds in a single series. He had warmed up for this outing with a superb match-winning unbeaten 176 against Australia ‘A’ 10 days ago, and kicked on from there, though he will be disappointed that he didn’t convert his even century into a daddy hundred.
West Indies seldom threatened, though if they had had a traditional first slip, they could have dismissed Rahul in the first over when India resumed on 121-2. Jayden Seales found the outside edge and the ball flew at a nice pace and height to where first slip ought to have been; instead, Alick Athanaze was at a wide slip for some strange reason, the ball passed harmlessly by to the fence and with that went any chance of the Caribbeans making a match of it.
Jurel-Jadeja’s big stand
Rahul and Gill put on 98 for the third wicket, and after the former was dismissed in the first over after lunch, Jurel and Jadeja sent the bowlers on a leatherhunt. Jurel was a picture of correctness and calm composure while the left-handed Jadeja used his feet superbly, especially against left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, whom he spanked for all five of his sixes down the straight field. Despite the odd ball spitting from the rough or scooting through, neither batter was in great discomfort during their 206-run alliance which was finally ended by debutant left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, who snared Jurel as his first Test victim.