After registering his first Test victory on home soil as India’s captain, Shubman Gill described the innings-and-140-run triumph over the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium as the “perfect game” the team had hoped for, to mark the start of the domestic season.
India’s emphatic win inside three days was powered by centuries from KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja, backed by sharp fielding and clinical bowling that handed them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
“I mean, six (toss) losses in a row, but as long as we keep winning the matches, it doesn’t matter for us, and it’s a perfect game for us, so very happy with the win,” Gill said after the match.
“Honestly, I think this was a perfect game for us. Three centurions in the game, and I think we fielded really well in both innings, we don’t really have any complaints,” he added at the post-match presentation.
Though Gill and opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal fell short of converting their starts, the skipper was quick to acknowledge the contributions of his teammates. “Definitely, whenever you get a start, I think it was a pretty good wicket to bat on. We both (Jaiswal and himself) got starts but couldn’t convert, there were plenty of other batsmen who converted, so happy for them.”
Speaking about India’s spin strength and bowling depth, Gill said, “When you’ve got quality spinners like them, it’s difficult to be able to rotate, but it’s good to have an option of too many, rather than not having that many options. But always difficult, that’s the challenge, and that’s the fun of playing in India. There will always be someone who will be out there, ready to get the job done for the team. The entire team and the young team came out with flying colours.”
Reflecting on his evolution as a leader, Gill, who was later named India’s new ODI captain, shared, “So many things, it’s hard to pin down on one or two things that I learnt, but I think over a period of two years, how we bonded as a team, and how we got ourselves out from tough situations and difficult situations, that was really pleasing for me to see.”
“We are still a learning side, and I think as long as we keep learning from experiences that we have, I think we’re going to be on the positive side of the match,” he added.
Chase blames batters’ flop show
Insisting on the importance of putting up a big first innings total on sub-continent wickets where the track gradually starts deteriorating with the progress of the contest, West Indies skipper Roston Chase felt that his side’s batters need to work more on their game.
“Obviously when you win the toss and bat and get bowled out for 162, it’s going to be tough to come back from that and it’s not the kind of performance we were looking forward to. We have to bat better, especially in India you have to put up a big first innings total on the board with the ball spinning and pitch deteriorating as the game goes on,” he said at the post-match presentation.
Asked if they should have opted to bowl first after winning the toss, the Windies skipper said, “No problem with the decision, everybody wanted to bat first. There was some moisture but we had to play past that.”
Asked about the delayed decision to take the second new ball during India’s batting innings, he stated, “I didn’t think the timing was off. I think when we did take it, we didn’t make the batsmen play enough. We needed to test them more. Batting is the main problem. Batsmen needed to form partnerships and we didn’t even get a fifty-run stand and in cricket you need partnerships, whether you’re batting or bowling.”
With the hosts taking a 1-0 lead in the first Test, a struggling West Indies will be looking to put up some fight when the two sides meet in Delhi for the second Test, starting October 10.