Yashasvi Jaiswal bats all day to finish 143 not out

Tea India 245 for 2 (Jaiswal 116*, Kohli 4*) lead West Indies 150 by 95 runs

Before this Test, Shubman Gill had told India’s coach Rahul Dravid that he wanted to move down to No. 3. The move didn’t bring immediate success for Gill, though, as he edged Jomel Warrican to second slip for 6. At the end of the session, India were 245 for 2, leading by 95 with Jaiswal batting on 116 and Virat Kohli on 4.

Rohit and Jaiswal had started the day with India 80 for no loss. The pair extended their association to 229; it was the first time in Test cricket that India took a first-innings lead without losing a wicket.

Both Rohit and Jaiswal showed great patience as West Indies focused on keeping the scoring rate in check, especially in the morning session when India scored only 66 runs in 32 overs.

Rahkeem Cornwall was the only West Indies bowler who looked threatening, but he had to leave the field in the first session after feeling discomfort in the chest. Kraigg Brathwaite and Athanaze filled in for him with their offspin, and while they kept a lid on the run rate, neither looked like taking a wicket.

At the start of the second session, Jaiswal tried to raise the tempo. He skipped down the ground a couple of times against Warrican but didn’t have much success. It was Rohit who showed the way by chipping Jason Holder down the ground for a four. In Holder’s next over, Jaiswal also threw his bat around to pick up two fours, the first of those coming off an outside edge.

West Indies moved to plan B after that, with Alzarri Joseph banging the ball in the middle of the pitch. With the ball coming slower off the surface, Rohit twice miscued the pull but was lucky both times. From the other end, Warrican found Rohit’s outside edge but it fell short of the slip fielder. But both batters showed enough restraint to wait for the loose balls, and put them away when the opportunity arrived.

In the first session, Jason Holder and Kemar Roach largely stuck to a good length outside off, conceding just 19 runs in the first nine overs of the day. The first boundary off the bat, came in the tenth over of the day when Jaiswal pulled Joseph to bring up his half-century. The shot also brought up India’s first opening century stand in 23 Test innings, since KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal added 117 against South Africa in Centurion in December 2021.

After the drinks interval, Rohit followed his partner to the landmark. He also had some advice for Jaiswal whenever the youngster looked impatient or played a loose shot.

Cornwall was getting assistance from the surface and had challenged Jaiswal’s both edges before the break. On the other side of it, he pinged him on the helmet with extra bounce as the left-hander failed to connect a sweep. Warrican, much quicker through the air than Cornwall, too found big turn to beat Rohit’s outside edge, but the success eluded him until the end of the second session.