India captain Shubman Gill won his first Test series as the skipper as India clean swept West Indies 2-0 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on October 14. KL Rahul came out with flying colours once again, completing his half-century in 101 balls and guiding the hosts to a 7-wicket win. He was the standout batter in difficult conditions once again as impatient Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill lost their wickets while trying to play needless shots on Tuesday.
Playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where the ball turned and kept low, Rahul stamped his authority on the opposition and helped India hunt down the target inside the first session of the day. The Karnataka batter played the ball on its merit. He defended the ones that kept perilously low, stepped down and whipped deliveries for boundaries against Roston Chase and Jomel Warrican, who bowled in tandem in the morning session.
IND vs WI, 2nd Test: Highlights | Match Scorecard
The Test match in Delhi was not a commanding win by any stretch of imagination, but it was a much-needed one for an Indian side which had been whitewashed at home by New Zealand less than a year back. Despite the tactical errors made throughout the 2nd Test, Shubman’s India will take confidence in the fact that on their difficult days, they can still come out on top with a victory that looks strong on paper, at least.
This Test match against West Indies might not be one that history remembers a few years down the line, but it will hold some valuable lessons for the Indian team. Was a declaration at 518 required? A premature call that forced the Indian bowlers to toil for 200 overs in the Delhi heat, at a time when workload talks already dominate the sport.
Did the India captain and management rotate its bowlers correctly? Despite the pacers struggling due to extended hours of bowling and the spinners unable to pick wickets, could Nitish Reddy not have been used as a variety or as a person who simply provides a breather to the main bowlers? If not, does Nitish merit a place in the Test line-up purely as a batter when the likes of Sarfaraz Khan sit outside the squad?
India’s Post Rohit-Kohli Era at Home
Whatever the blemishes from the second Test might be, India gave a commanding performance with the bat in the post-Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli era at home. A horrendous loss in the 3-match series against New Zealand last year forced the Indian cricketing ecosystem into panic. The team, which was settled for the last 5 years, saw three back-to-back retirements in Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
There were questions about the Indian batting line-up coming into this series as well. However, the likes of Sai Sudharsan, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel gave a strong account of themselves, making sure that the transition was swift in nature.
Bar Sai Sudharsan, all of the India top 6 batters hit hundreds, running the West Indian bowling attack to the ground. The Indian management would take confidence from the outing and hopefully stick to the line-up for the South Africa Tests, that India play in the months of November and December.
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