SHUBMAN GILL registered his first Test series win as India captain on Tuesday after his team defeated the West Indies by seven wickets at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium to complete a 2-0 series sweep.
India resumed the final day of the second Test on 63-1, chasing a target of 121. They reached the mark in the first session, with KL Rahul remaining unbeaten on 58.
West Indies captain Roston Chase took two wickets with his off-spin, dismissing Sai Sudharsan for 39 and Gill for 13. Rahul sealed the win with a boundary as India finished on 124-3.
The West Indies had earlier staged a strong fightback, posting 390 in their second innings after being asked to follow on. John Campbell and Shai Hope both scored centuries.
India, now led by 26-year-old Gill following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are in a transition phase. The team had earlier won the opening Test by an innings and 140 runs, following a 2-2 draw in their five-match series in England from June to August — Gill’s first assignment as captain.
“It’s a really big honour and I would say I’m getting used to it,” Gill said at the post-match presentation. “Managing all the players and leading this team is a great honour.”
India head coach Gautam Gambhir praised the young captain’s performance after what he called a tough initiation in England.
“No one has done him a favour by appointing him the Test and one-day captain,” Gambhir said. “I think he deserves every bit of it. I think he’s worked hard, and he ticks all the boxes.”
Gill, appointed Test captain in May, has been in good form, scoring 754 runs in the five Tests against England and adding a half-century and a century in the two matches against the West Indies.
India’s left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav took eight wickets in the Delhi Test, including 5-82 in the first innings, to be named player of the match. Kuldeep finished the series with 12 wickets, while fast bowler Mohammed Siraj took 10, becoming India’s leading wicket-taker this year with 37 in eight matches.
India’s batting set up the win in the first innings, with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 175 in their total of 518-5 declared. Gill contributed an unbeaten 129.
The West Indies, who have struggled in recent years, suffered their second straight Test series defeat after a 3-0 home loss to Australia. However, there were some positives from their performance in Delhi.
Campbell and Hope shared a 177-run partnership for the third wicket on Monday as India’s bowlers found limited assistance from the slow pitch.
“It’s just for us to use this last Test match as a stepping stone and a confidence booster going into the upcoming series,” Chase said. “We just have to keep improving as much as we can from here.”
India enforced the follow-on after bowling out the West Indies for 248 in the first innings, a deficit of 270. In their second innings, the visitors rallied through Campbell and Hope, with Justin Greaves and Jayden Seales adding late resistance.
Greaves remained unbeaten on 50 while Seales made 32, the pair adding 79 runs for the final wicket to extend the match into the fifth day.
(With inputs from agencies)
