The West Indies got everything they wanted on Day 1 of the Ahmedabad Test. Roston Chase won the toss and opted to bat first on what looked like a decent batting track. India dropped two catches as well. Yet, in under two sessions, the touring team was rolled out for just 162.
No Kohli-Ashwin after 14 years
Shubman Gill had hinted at rolling a balanced pitch to begin a new era of Test cricket in India. And that’s exactly what happened. The pitch had bounce, swing, and seam movement. For spinners who bowled spin, there was turn as well. Batters who bide their time found success as well.
In what was the first match at home without Virat Kohli or Ravichandran Ashwin in 14 years, India had no qualms about dealing with the Windies’ threat. Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah made life easy for Gill, who was leading India for the first time at home.
Siraj records career-best figures at home
Although Bumrah took a wicket in his first spell, he wasn’t at his best. Siraj, from the other end, handsomely outbowled him. He claimed three of the first four wickets. Thanks to Siraj, the West Indies were 42/4 in 11.4 overs. The damage was done. The visitors were in rebuilding mode from then on.
Kuldeep Yadav joined the party by bowling Shai Hope with a beauty, but Siraj came back to send West Indies captain Roston Chase to the pavillion. The pacer from Hyderabad had already recorded his career-best figures by then, 28/4. It was only the second time in 15 Test matches that he took a 4-wicket haul. Siraj didn’t take another wicket in the innings but was the standout performer.
Bumrah creates another record
Bumrah returned in the 33rd over and created history. With two seething yorkers, one to Justin Greaves and another to debutant Johann Layne, he became the fastest Indian fast bowler to take 50 Test wickets at home. It took Bumrah just 292.5 overs, taking a wicket every 35 balls. Kuldeep got the final wicket of West Indies vice-captain Jomel Warrican to bundle them out in just 44.1 overs.
KL Rahul leads the way with a solid fifty
In reply, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal started cautiously. In 12.4 overs, the Indian openers scored just 23 runs. A 20-minute rain delay gave some rest to Windies bowlers, but it all got worse from there.
In the next 5.4 overs, Jaiswal scored 7 boundaries, and Rahul chipped in with 2. India scored 45 runs in this period, but aggression got the better of Jaiswal, who was caught behind while cutting a ball close to his body. The southpaw would have liked to continue, but part of his job was done.
Sai Sudharsan joined Rahul in the middle but never got going. During his 19-ball stay in the middle, he looked jittery. Debutant Khary Pierre caused trouble for him by continuously pitching the ball in the rough, and that threw Sudharsan off his game. The pressure paid off as Chase got him trapped in the front soon after.
Gill came out with less than an hour left before the play was to end and batted the day out. Rahul battled cramps before scoring a fifty, the 20th of his Test career, from 101 balls. He remained unbeaten at 53 on stumps, while Gill ended at 18, with India trailing by just 41 runs.
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