SKIPPER Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 129 as India declared their first innings at 518-5 against the West Indies on the second day of the second Test on Saturday.
India resumed at 318-2 at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, but lost overnight batter Yashasvi Jaiswal for 175 early in the day. Gill then took charge and completed his 10th Test century.
Starting the day on 20, Gill played confidently against the West Indies bowlers, hitting 16 fours and two sixes. He reached his fifth century of the year by scoring three runs off left-arm spinner Khary Pierre and raised his bat to acknowledge the weekend crowd.
Gill and wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel added 102 runs for the fifth wicket, scoring freely after lunch. Jurel made 44 before he was bowled by West Indies captain Roston Chase with a delivery that stayed low. Gill soon declared the innings.
Earlier, Jaiswal added only two runs to his overnight score before being run out following a mix-up with Gill in the second over of the day. Jaiswal pushed the ball to mid-off and went for a single, but Gill was ball-watching. Wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach collected the throw and broke the stumps to end Jaiswal’s innings, leaving the crowd disappointed as he missed a double century.
Gill then put together a 91-run stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was dropped on 20 when Anderson Phillip missed a catch at mid-off off Jomel Warrican. Warrican later dismissed Reddy for 43, caught at long-on, taking his third wicket of the innings.
India had opted to bat first in their bid to secure a clean sweep in the two-match series after winning the opening Test by an innings.
(With inputs from agencies)
