West Indies Test 2: India post 318/2 riding on Jaiswal's ton on Day 1

New Delhi: Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his ascent in the international cricket arena with a commanding unbeaten 173, while B Sai Sudharsan kept his critics at bay by making a fine 87 as India posted 318/2 in 90 overs at stumps on day one of the second and final Test against West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday, IANS reported.

From the time captain Shubman Gill won his first toss as India’s Test skipper and chose to bat on a slow pitch on a bright day with 11,000 spectators in attendance, everything went India’s way. Jaiswal and KL Rahul put on a steady 58-run stand before the former was involved in a huge 193-run partnership with Sudharsan, who hit his first Test fifty in India.

Jaiswal shifted gears post-lunch to bring up his hundred with flair in a knock where he started watchfully, feasted only on bad balls, and then got runs effortlessly. The final session saw a slowdown in scoring rate, but India remained in control. Jaiswal crossed 150 for the fifth time in his young Test career, and looks set for garnering more runs on day two, with skipper Shubman Gill also looking solid while slog-sweeping his way to 20 not out.

The standout aspect of the day, though, was Jaiswal’s knock, which was a masterclass in tempo control as an opening batter. He absorbed pressure early, capitalised on loose deliveries in the middle session and tightened up again when West Indies regained discipline late in the day.

West Indies, meanwhile, bowled with discipline in patches, with no extras conceded all day and had an excellent over rate. But that wasn’t enough for any other bowler apart from Jomel Warrican to be amongst the wicket-takers.

The chants in the stadium were initially for ‘Kohli, Kohli’, referring to the veteran batting stalwart and local lad. But it quickly changed to ‘Jaiswal, Jaiswal’ by lunch. Those chants were made possible thanks to Jaiswal and Rahul negotiating an early swing before opening up with a flurry of boundaries.