India demolished the West Indies by an innings and 140 runs in the Ahmedabad Test.
Ravindra Jadeja, who struck an unbeaten century, also shone with the ball. After going wicketless in the first innings, the left-arm spinner bagged four scalps this time. Mohammed Siraj too lit up the contest with brilliant bowling once again, helping India crush the visitors and take the lead in the series.
On the third day in Ahmedabad, India wrapped up the victory by an innings and 140 runs — their fifth-biggest win against the West Indies.
In the first innings, India bundled out the Caribbean side for just 162. Shubman Gill’s men then declared at 448 for 5. When the West Indies came out to bat again on Saturday, they couldn’t even last two sessions, collapsing for 146.
This was the West Indies’ fifth consecutive innings defeat on Indian soil, with none of those matches lasting beyond three days.
Batting failures in the longest format have long haunted the West Indies. In their last 15 innings, they crossed 200 only twice, with the highest being 253. In those 15 innings, they never once managed to face the second new ball.
Jadeja was the undisputed star of the match. With the bat, he smashed 104 runs studded with 5 sixes and 6 fours. With the ball, he claimed four wickets for 54 runs. Unsurprisingly, he was named Player of the Match.
This was Jadeja’s 11th Player of the Match award in Tests, equalling Rahul Dravid for the second-most by an Indian, only behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 14. On home soil, though, Jadeja now stands alone at the top, with 10 such awards, surpassing Anil Kumble’s 9.
Siraj, who took 4 wickets in the first innings, added three more in the second. Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with two wickets in each innings, nailing the final blows both times.
Contributions also came from KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, who scored 100 and 125 respectively.
India didn’t bat again on the third day at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The West Indies’ second innings offered no improvement — no batsman reached fifty, with Alick Athanaze top-scoring on 38. Just like the first innings, not a single partnership managed to reach fifty.
Returning to Tests, Tagenarine Chanderpaul was dismissed for 8 in the second innings, once again falling to Siraj.
Jadeja was introduced into the attack as early as the seventh over of the day. In his third over, he struck the first blow when Sai Sudharsan held on to a sharp catch at short leg to dismiss John Campbell.
From there, wickets kept tumbling. Within five overs, Brandon King and Shai Hope fell to Jadeja, while Roston Chase was removed by Kuldeep.
Washington Sundar ended Athanaze’s resistance with a return catch, while Siraj struck twice in the following over. Toward the end, Jayden Seales’ quickfire 22 off 12 — with two sixes and a four — dragged West Indies close to 150.
The second and final Test of the series begins next Friday in Delhi.
Brief Scores
- West Indies 1st innings: 162
- India 1st innings: 448/5 decl.
- West Indies 2nd innings: 146 in 45.1 overs (Campbell 14, Chanderpaul 8, Athanaze 38, King 5, Chase 1, Hope 1, Graves 25, Pierre 13*, Warrican 0, Lane 14, Seales 22; Bumrah 6-1-16-0, Siraj 11-2-31-3, Jadeja 13-3-54-4, Kuldeep 8.1-3-23-2, Washington 7-1-18-1)
Result: India won by an innings and 140 runs
Player of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja
Series: India lead 1–0 in the two-match series
