Rahul, Jurel, and Jadeja crush West Indies with relentless centuries
Key Points(5)
- India turned the second day in Ahmedabad into a showcase of batting supremacy, piling up 448-5 and stretching their lead to a daunting 286 runs by stumps.
- Centuries from KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravindra Jadeja left West Indies chasing shadows.
- Remarkably, it marked the third time in 2025—after Leeds and Manchester—that India celebrated three centurions in the same innings.
- <h2>Rahul and Gill set the stage</h2> The morning belonged to Rahul and Shubman Gill, who strolled past West Indies’ first-innings total with ease.
- Gill, serene and composed, notched his eighth Test half-century, while Rahul punished every loose ball.
India turned the second day in Ahmedabad into a showcase of batting supremacy, piling up 448-5 and stretching their lead to a daunting 286 runs by stumps.
Centuries from KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravindra Jadeja left West Indies chasing shadows. Remarkably, it marked the third time in 2025—after Leeds and Manchester—that India celebrated three centurions in the same innings.
Rahul and Gill set the stage
The morning belonged to Rahul and Shubman Gill, who strolled past West Indies’ first-innings total with ease. Gill, serene and composed, notched his eighth Test half-century, while Rahul punished every loose ball.
West Indies squandered their only early opportunity when Jayden Seales found Rahul’s edge, but the ball evaded a wide slip cordon. That missed chance proved costly. The visitors briefly slowed India’s charge after drinks, with Kharry Pierre and Roston Chase exploiting rough patches outside leg stump. Yet Rahul held firm, eventually reaching his 11th Test hundred, and only his second on home soil, just before lunch.
Gill, however, succumbed to temptation, attempting a reverse sweep against Chase that ballooned to slip. His dismissal gave West Indies a brief reprieve but did little to alter the course of the innings.
Jadeja and Jurel shift gears
After the interval, Ravindra Jadeja and Dhruv Jurel shifted the momentum with controlled aggression. Jurel announced himself by pulling Chase for the match’s first six, while Jadeja launched into Warrican, thundering two towering blows over long-on in a single over.
Their intent was clear: keep the scoreboard ticking. Seales was recalled in a desperate search for reverse swing, but the pair remained unflustered. By the second session drinks break, India’s lead had surged beyond 100.
The Ahmedabad pitch added intrigue, with the old ball gripping more, spinning sharper, and occasionally keeping low. Still, Jadeja capitalized on the conditions, dispatching Warrican for a fourth six—all over long-on—eclipsing MS Dhoni’s tally of 78 Test sixes. Only Pant, Sehwag, and Rohit Sharma now sit above him.
Jurel’s maiden ton, Jadeja’s milestone
The new ball, taken in the 98th over, slowed India’s scoring but failed to deliver breakthroughs. Instead, the highlight came from Jurel, who showcased remarkable temperament in bringing up his maiden Test hundred. His 210-ball stay produced 15 fours and three sixes, marking him as a potential long-term answer to Rishabh Pant’s absence.
Pierre eventually ended his innings at 125, finding an edge through to the keeper. But by then, the damage had been done. Only minutes later, Jadeja reached his own century, continuing a prolific 2025 in which he now trails only one teammate in the year’s scoring charts.
West Indies left searching
By close, India had three centurions, a mountain of runs, and complete control of the contest. West Indies’ young and inexperienced attack worked hard but lacked the cutting edge to dismantle India’s depth.
For the visitors, it was a long day in the field; for India, a statement of dominance, with Rahul’s authority, Jurel’s emergence, and Jadeja’s belligerence combining into a performance that left the hosts firmly in command.
