India once more dominated proceedings in the ongoing Test series against the West Indies as they ended Day 1 of the second game in New Delhi on 318 for 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal turned out to be the mainstay of the home side’s near-perfect batting effort, remaining unbeaten on 173. Sai Sudharsan (87 runs) and KL Rahul (38 runs) also made useful contributions.
The only time the West Indies seemed to be in the contest was during the first hour of the opening session. After India opted to bat, both Jaiswal and Rahul survived a few anxious moments during that aforementioned period. Rahul also survived a loud appeal for an LBW off Anderson Phillip. The West Indies did take the review, but the ball-tracker indicated that it was an umpire’s call for both impact and hitting.
Rahul was the more aggressive of the two batters, cracking a few good-looking flicks and drives. However, against the run of play, he skipped down the deck and was stumped off Jomel Warrican’s bowling. Replays suggested that the ball turned a whopping 8.4 degrees after pitching.
Sai, who replaced Rahul, played with a fair amount of intent against spin. The highlight of his innings was a couple of punches he essayed while facing Warrican. After the lunch break, Jaiswal decided to change gears, smashing Jayden Seales for three boundaries in an over. Just before the tea break, he also completed his seventh Test ton by adding two more runs to his tally, off Khary Pierre.
By then, Sai had cruised past the 50-run mark. The point to note about his fifty was that according to Cricviz’s data, he didn’t play a single false shot until he reached the landmark.
Ultimately, in the final session, Warrican made the breakthrough to bring to an end to a 193-run stand. The left-arm spinner got one to spin back in sharply to rap Sai on the back foot. The initial decision for an LBW appeal was not out, but the visitors got it overturned via DRS. Shubman Gill, the skipper, and Jaiswal then steered India to the stumps, with the latter going past the 150-run mark.
The track is already offering some assistance to the spinners, and India would fancy their chances of wrapping up the series.
Brief scores: India 318/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 173*, Sai Sudharsan 87; Jomel Warrican 2/60) v the West Indies.
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