IND vs WI 1st Test Day 2

Well, we are done for the day. West Indies have managed to bowl out their 90 overs before 5:00 PM. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar are unbeaten at the crease. One has got three figures to his name, and the other is just starting his innings. The tempo at which India has played in that evening session suggests that they will be batting for a bit more tomorrow to extend this lead. Also, they still have a batter in Nitish Kumar Reddy who can inflict some damage by scoring quick runs. As per the West Indies, the situation they are in right now it is only about delaying the inevitable as long as they can. That's it from us for today, folks. Do join us tomorrow for all the live updates.

Ravindra Jadeja scores his second ton of the year. It has been a magnificent batting year from him. Although with the ball he has not been as good as he used to be but his batting has gone to a different level altogether. His role seems to be a lot more defined in this team in terms of both the position he comes into bat and the role he has to play whenever he comes into bat. Given his experience of churning triple hundreds in Ranji trophy cricket, he probably is not done here. We might see him bat for another session or two tomorrow as India seems to be in no hurry to declare at the moment.

Dhruv Jurel has fallen here, and it is Pierre who has got the wicket. He tried to push the ball through extra-cover with an angled bat and got the edge, and the keeper took the catch. It is the first Test wicket for Pierre. Neverthless, superb innings from Jurel, just when he was looking to accelerate and score some quick runs, he fell. Jadeja gave a handshake to Jurel as he was walking back as a token of appreciation. Although the bowling has not been of a higher quality from the West Indies, you can only play against the teams you are set up against and Jurel has managed to do an exceptional job of it.

Ravindra Jadeja has come into the 90s now here. He, too, has played quite superbly since walking into the middle. It has been a bit different style of an innings from him where he came in and started to attack right away, and once he has put the pressure on the bowlers and rattled them, then he has come more into his regular tempo and constructed a superb partnership with Dhruv Jurel. The form of Jadeja has been superb in recent times, and here he has another century for taking. He must be the best all-round in the Test format right now.

Dhruv Jurel flicks one through mid-wicket for a boundary off Roston Chase and brings up his maiden Test match 100. It has not been easy for him. He had to warm the bench when Rishabh Pant was in the side and had to wait for his opportunity, and when he got it, he made the most of it. He has the technique and temperament and has been doing all the right things, scoring runs for the India A side and going back to Ranji cricket and delivering the goods as well. After this performance, India will certainly have to create a space in the team somewhere.

Well, the oddball is turning quite viciously. We saw it yesterday, too. The oddball was spinning way too much whenever it was put into that rough patch. Jadeja, when he came in, he made sure he danced down the track time and again to hit that kind of delivery out of sight and alter the bowler's change his length a bit. But since the Tea break, both the Indian batters have gone into groove a bit and have been looking to survive and extend the lead as much as they can. Dinesh Karthik, on commentary, believes that India will be looking to declare at Tea tommorow if that is the case West Indies still has a lot of bowling to do in this Test match.

It has been India's passage yet again. There has not been much happening in terms of play here. West Indies has taken the second new ball bat; they could not pick any wickets, and neither have India shown any intention to go after the bowling and force the issue. The lead has stretched further, far enough for the West Indies is highly unlikely to make a comeback in this game. While there are improvements that can be definitely made from the West Indies perspective, do they have the personnel to do it is the biggest question. It is not just about the lack of discipline; the side they have picked does not have the skillset.

Jurel has made it into the 80s here. He got a sublime 90 last year against England in Ranchi. That game was gone out of India's hands when he came into the crease, but his partnership with Kuldeep Yadav in the first innings took India closer to England's total and laid the foundation for the famous win, which sealed the series. Tempramentally, the game has always been there in Jurel but it is about fitting him into this side, where the combination Gautam Gambhir is opting to go with, there are only limited opportunities for the batters to get into the side.

Seamers are done, and Roston Chase is bringing the bowling changes on here. He has brought himself into the attack, and from Jayden Seales' end, he has brought in Justin Greaves, who has been a bit of a nothing bowler on this wicket. While having someone who can hold an end up is not such a bad selection, but West Indies have too many of them on their side who are just good at holding up an end instead of taking wickets. Akeal Hossain, who is a very good spinner, has been sent to Nepal for a T20I series. would his being there would have had any impact, we will never know.

The game has come to a standstill here. Neither are the West Indies doing much to make wickets happen, nor are the Indian batters doing something fancy, which they were doing before Tea break, when Ravindra Jadeja regularly charged down the track to whack a few down the ground. But since Tea, it has been more attritional cricket, and given how things are going, it begs the question if India is looking to declare today. The long West Indies are on the field in this Test match; the better they will be for the run in Delhi, which should be a little cooler than what we are seeing here.

The way both these batters are batting out there in the middle, it does seem like they are going to take a bit more deeper before they launch their counter-assault. Dhruv Jurel especially, is closing in on his first Test match century, and Jadeja too, after the break, and has got his eye in seems like he is going to play it a bit steadily and look for his ton. As per the West Indies bowlers, they are hitting the right areas at the moment, and there is that little bit of new ball nibble available to work with, but as both the batters are in, they are dealing with it quite comfortably.

It has been a bit of a sedate start from the Indian batters. Both Layne and Seales are still getting some swing and seam moment from this surface. This is the advantage of having red-soil wickets because of the bouncy nature; there is always something to work with for the bowlers if they are willing to bend their back. We have seen spinners get a bit of turn and seamers a bit of moment, and if batters have tried to apply themselves, they have been able to score runs. It is just about applying yourself as a player, which is crucial on this wicket and which is what the West Indies have lacked.

'The sun is out, it's a cloudless sky. Day 1 was about seam movement. The degree of seam movement went down session by session. Batters will have to take that into consideration,' notes Ganga. 'there is wear and tear on the off side for a right-hander. Today it won't be about seam so much, will be about turn. Spinners will be more into the picture.'

Dasgupta adds: 'This is the beauty of the red soil pitch. Even if there is little moistur, there will be turn. But now is the best time to bat on this pitch.'

Well, a session which could have been West Indies' after the wicket in that first over, but Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja had other plans. Smooth is the word that defines that partnership between them. Both took their chances initially, but once the West Indians were on the back foot, they started to get into more orthodox mode. We might see more or less the same post-Tea too, and it just might be the question of how many runs ahead Shubman Gill feels comfortable with. Given the bowling resources he has and the woes of the West Indies batting line-up, we might see the West Indian openers come to bat at around 4:30 in the evening today.

That is a pretty ordinary review from the West Indies. Jadeja came down the track and tried to fend the ball. The ball hit the pad and was carried to the short-leg fielder, who took the catch. And the umpire crossed his head straight away, but Chase decided to go upstairs, and it confirmed the fact that the bat and ball were miles apart. The review shows the state of mind the West Indies are in at the moment. This is the passage where both the Indian batters Jadeja and Jurel will look to cash in and fill their bellies with runs. India might have another session in this game and look to declare sometime later tonight.

Layne has come into attack, and Seales has walked off the ground at the moment. It does seem like the muggy conditions here are taking their toll on the West Indian fast bowler. What in turn absence of Seales does it delays the new ball for a bit longer. As per the partnership between Jurel and Jadeja, after starting at a bit of T20 pace early on, the innings has now taken autopilot mode, and both batters are just playing with a lot of ease. The next 30 minutes before the Tea break are going to be quite crucial for the West Indies if they pick up a wicket, there will be something to cheer about going back into the dressing room. If not, the mood might be carried onto field post Tea as well.

Jurel has gotten to the half-century here. It has been a cracking innings from the batter. The tempo he has played with today has been quite magnificent. It would have been easy to carry away to replicate the innings Pant plays, which he did not. He played his own game at his own tempo and is now showing the results. He will want to convert this half-century into a century and give a statement that he is always in around the side, not just as a back-up keeper, but if needed as a pure batter too, he can chip in on the side in any position.

We still have not seen the West Indies take the new ball yet. Although the ball is reversing, the problem the West Indies have in this game is that they have only one fast bowler who has the experience to exploit it to a reasonable effort. Layne is making his debut, hence it is hard to expect him to make an impact against this experienced Indian batting line-up. Although these are spinning conditions, the strength of the West Indies is their pace trio, and this wicket has been helpful to seamers to some extent, and Chase would have loved to have at least one Joseph in this attack. As we update Jurel has scored 50.

Well, Chase has not taken the second new ball. There was a delivery in the previous over from Seales that has tailed back into him, and there is a bit of reverse swing on offer. And Chase and Seales have decided to explore that mode of dismissal now. Jurel, too, has altered his technique a bit. This is a different challenge for the Indian batters; they have not faced a lot of reverse-swing in England or Australia, or even against New Zealand last year. It has been quite a while to see this happened. If the wickets are good enough, we might see more of it in Delhi.

Seales has come back into the attack, which might be an indication that the West Indies might be taking the new ball after the 80th over. If we just look at bowling in isolation, the West Indies have been quite decent. They have managed to pick wickets at regular intervals and have ensured they keep India under check. Although India has the lead here, and they still have six wickets in hand means it will be a Herculean effort from the West Indies to make India bat again in this game, but if they have to take out one positive in this Test match, that has to come from the bowling.

We are five overs away from the new ball, and it will be a crucial phase of this game. It can go either way. India might accelerate from its current situation, or the West Indies might manage to get a few quick wickets and induce a collapse. Additionally, there is every possibility that they might just continue with spinners after the 80th over mark because the spinners, Warrican, especially when he bowls slowly and tosses it up, are getting a bit of spin. Hence, they might dangle the carrot a bit longer with the older ball, trying to bowl it in the rough to inflict a false shot from either of the batters who, at the moment, are making the effort to disturb the length of the spinners' bowling in that rough.

Well, three sixes have been smacked in the last couple of overs. First, it was Jurel who punished the short ball from Roston Chase, and then Ravindra Jadeja came down the track to smack a couple down the ground to get two more sixes away. It is one of those Jadeja things where the game situation and his innings tempo are not in very sync. With the time we still have left in the game, Jadeja was expected to build a partnership here with Jurel. Well, like he always does, he took the other route, and he has started to attack Warrican and has got himself a start.

KL Rahul has fallen immediately after the break here. It was a bit of a lost shot from him, considering it was right after the break. Warrican bowled one outside the off-stump, tossed it up nicely, enticing the drive from KL Rahul, which he did, and the ball went straight to extra-cover. Although it is hard to criticise a player who has got a ton, but the stage of career Rahul is in and the form he has now, he has to make these 100s into 150s and 160s to improve upon his average. Ravindra Jadeja has walked into the middle and what a brilliant series he has had against England earlier in the year.

India end the session with a boundary and the hosts lead by 56 runs as lunch is taken. India (218/3 at lunch) lost just one wicket in the first session of day 2: that of captain Shubman Gill who scored a half century before throwing away his wicket.

Here are the numbers of India's first session of day 2: 29 overs, 97 runs, run rate of 3.34.

Rahul, meanwhile, survived a couple of early chances to rack up his second century at home (and 11th overall). This is Rahul's first century at home in nine years!

Now, after playing through the entire session, Rahul faces his next big challenge: he has to walk up the 94 steps to reach the dressing room.

What a chance for West Indies on day 2.

Jayden Seales managed to get an edge on the 6th ball from the half centurion, KL Rahul. The ball flies at the most comfortable height to the fielder at first slip. BUT THERE IS NO FIRST SLIP! The West Indies have posted a fielder at second slip leaving a wide gap between the slip fielder and the keeper. And that is exactly where the ball has flown between.

Dinesh Karthik, in commentary, notes: “Looks like they’re trying to stop runs very early in the day, I would be rather looking to pick up wickets.”

Ian Bishop, who is in commentary, is livid: “I want to see the field set more attacking for the first hour. Seales has to think about getting wickets. I wonder if they changed the field after the boundary earlier in the over when KL Rahul guided it to the boundary past the slip fielder. You cannot be conservative at this stage of the day’s play when the batters are most vulnerable.”

Deep Dasgupta and Daren Ganga are assessing the conditions for the day 2.

'The sun is out, it's a cloudless sky. Day 1 was about seam movement. The degree of seam movement went down session by session. Batters will have to take that into consideration,' notes Ganga. 'there is wear and tear on the off side for a right-hander. Today it won't be about seam so much, will be about turn. Spinners will be more into the picture.'

Dasgupta adds: 'This is the beauty of the red soil pitch. Even if there is little moistur, there will be turn. But now is the best time to bat on this pitch.'

In his report from the Narendra Modi Stadium, The Indian Express' man on the ground in Ahmedabad, writes:

Near the end of the first session, West Indies head coach Darren Sammy made a facepalm. He had enough reasons to do it. With the lunch break minutes away, Shai Hope, the middle-order batsman who was supposed to form the backbone of this fragile West Indies batting line-up, went for an expansive drive through the large vacant cover area which Kuldeep Yadav had left intentionally untenanted.

It is the age-old trap that Indian spinners lay for most visiting batsmen and one that the world-class ones resist. Hope, though, doesn’t fit into that class, and as soon as he saw this flighted delivery, chose to free his arms, unaware of what the drift was going to do to him.

Once he had committed to that shot, there were just two possibilities: one was to connect, and another was what followed. It dipped on him further than he anticipated, and the sharp turn castled the woodwork behind as Kuldeep, having waited nearly a year for a Test, bowled a perfect delivery to get off the mark. At the dressing room’s viewing area, Sammy’s gesture captured not just his but that of the watching public.

For a team that is still reeling under the shock defeat to New Zealand a year back, India were not willing to take chances against an opponent that is ranked eighth in the table. Even though the West Indies are thin on experience, India didn’t compromise on one aspect – adding depth to batting and bowling. It has been the case since Gautam Gambhir took charge as coach and the pitch in Ahmedabad provided more reasons for him to field as many as three all-rounders. With a fair bit of grass on it, the pitch offered movement and good carry throughout the day for the seamers before the odd deliveries from the spinners began to spit and turn towards the end of the day. Maybe this is what prompted West Indies to expose themselves against two raging pacers Bumrah and Siraj. And more than the former, whom the Caribbean great Andy Roberts had told this newspaper that they would have preferred him to be part of their pace quartet, it was Siraj who was the unplayable one.

Having thrived in recent months, in particular in the absence of Bumrah, Siraj has come across a different seamer, one with the capability to move the ball both ways. Unfortunately for the Windies, Siraj found his rhythm soon. In the two months he spent at his home town Hyderabad, one of Siraj’s favourite pastime was to make a drive to Eidgah Maidan in the Old city, park his swanky car and have the Irani Chai from the mobile chaiwala. It is a place where he is able to reconnect with himself, and the same can be said when he takes up the red cherry as well. With a cross-seam delivery – which he delivers when none of his other tricks aren’t working for him – he can conjure moments of brilliance out of nowhere. It is that scrambled seam that undone Brandon King and later on Roston Chase before he struggled hard to get the fifth that never arrived.

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Mohammed Siraj was India’s wrecker-in-chief on Thursday, picking up four wickets for India as they dismissed the West Indies side inside two sessions. Of the four wickets he took, the pacer said that he enjoyed the Brandon King dismissal the best. The West Indies batter had shouldered arms to an incoming delivery only to watch in horror as it went and thudded into his middle stump on Day 1 of the Test.

He also picked up the wickets of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Alick Athanaze and Roston Chase.

"There are no free wickets (in international cricket)," Siraj said, smiling. "I had to work hard for those four wickets. I got wickets working hard in England as well. If it were easy, I would have got the fifth here."

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