2nd Test: Jadeja eyes early breakthroughs on day three despite not much spin available

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) India vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja said he expects a tougher grind for the spin bowling contingent on Day Three of the second Test against West Indies, citing that the pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium did not offer much turn and bounce.

On the second day of the match, India declared their first innings at 518/5 and reduced the West Indies to 140/4 at stumps, with Jadeja taking three of those scalps. Veteran all-rounder Jadeja’s experience and tactical clarity will be key for India, who are still in a pole position to wrap up the series 2-0.

“The red ball is not spinning much; the bounce is also less. We will have to bowl more from the shoulders. If we bowl slowly, it won't bounce, and it becomes easier for the batter to play. We have to mix and vary the pace. We will have to vary everything, because it's not that easy and not every ball is spinning.”

“It's a little hard work, and tomorrow's day will be a little tough because if this partnership and current batters are dismissed, then I think it will be a little easier because they don't have such a long batting depth. It won't be that easy because the normal wicket, when the ball falls, it bounces a lot and the wicket spins fast, but it's not that fast here. So we will have to work a little hard,” said Jadeja in the post-day press conference.

He also said the team had anticipated a slow pitch in New Delhi. “No, I am not surprised because we have asked for a slow turner, and have not asked for a rank turner. I think this is what we expected. As the game progresses, the wicket will start turning slowly.”

“It did not happen that way on the first day, so I think we are not surprised. We have to work hard and bowl well throughout the innings, then only will we be able to take them out. So, I think we will continue to do it. Hopefully, we will produce a good result,” he said.

The day belonged to Indian skipper Shubman Gill, continuing his prolific run in Tests by hitting an unbeaten 129 – his tenth ton in the format and fifth of this year. Gill’s 129 not out, coming in 196 balls with the help of 16 fours and two sixes, is now his highest individual score in home Tests, going past the 128 he hit against Australia in Ahmedabad in March 2023.

Resuming from 20 off 67 balls, Gill’s innings was marked by control and crisp timing, and after reaching his fifty, he accelerated with elegant stroke-play to finish unbeaten. Gill’s five Test hundreds this year as India’s captain are equal to Virat Kohli’s feat achieved in 2017 and 2018.

Only Alastair Cook, with six centuries in his first seven Tests as England captain, has more than Gill in that span. Gill joins Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar with five centuries in their first seven Tests as captain, thus placing him in a rare company.

As per statistics from Cricket-21, among Indian batters with at least 10 Test centuries, Gill boasts of the best conversion rate - turning 56% of his fifty-plus scores into hundreds, with 10 centuries and 8 fifties to his name.

His latest century also takes him to the top of India’s charts for most hundreds in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, surpassing Rohit Sharma (9) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (7). Jadeja, who has seen Gill's growth since the time he entered the Test set-up in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, praised the young captain’s leadership, rubbing off very well on his batting returns.

“As a team and as its captain, he is performing well. The team is getting a lot of help from him, as the captain is performing so well. He performed well in the England series and hit a fifty in the first match. I think the young generation takes responsibility for themselves. Jaiswal made a lot of runs in the last two years. So, the young players take responsibility onto their own hands. It's not like they leave it to someone else. It's a good thing for Indian cricket to have batters playing such a long innings.”

“I think consistency has been the key for Gill, because he has been scoring a lot of runs after he got the captaincy. So, I think that's a good sign for Indian cricket that he has been scoring so many runs for India in the recent past after becoming captain – so, I think that's a good sign.”

Jadeja, 36, also weighed in on Jaiswal’s run-out on 175, calling it an unfortunate mix-up. “There was a misunderstanding in yes, no, yes, no. Non-strikers never think that there is a run, while strikers think that there is a run.”

“It just goes on like that, and this is part of the game. Thankfully, we were in a good situation. Even after that, the whole team stayed, scored a lot, and made a big score. We were able to post such a big total on the board at the end of the day,” he said.

Jadeja was also effusive in his praise for Jaiswal’s growth and batting intelligence since hitting a century on debut against the West Indies in 2023. “I would say that Jaiswal is very clever. He is intense about his batting. He knows which bowler to attack and which bowler to play and take out. So, I think that his maturity level is very good. He doesn't try to hit off every bowler.”

“He has a very good idea about which situation to hit and which time to hit. So, I think that's a good thing when a batsman knows what shot he is going to play and when he is going to play, it stays in his mind. So, that thing makes him more successful. I think that's the reason why he makes such big scores match after match. He has a good shot selection, and knows when to hit against which bowler and which shot to be hit off him.”

--IANS

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