WI v IND, 2nd Test Day 2 Review: KL Rahul stands tall

If Day 2 of the second Test can be reduced to two words, it would probably be ‘KL Rahul’. It wasn’t just the fact that he had broken a few records while doing so. It directly pointed to a player who was at certain peace with his game and also pointed to the fact that he was a player who could turn a small score into a massive one.

Shannon Gabriel and Miguel Cummins toiled hard for the West Indies as they made amends for some horrific performances on the first Day of the second Test. All in all, it was a day where the spoils were shared between the two sides, eventually meaning that the West Indies would need to pull the rabbit out of the hat if they needed a victory in this Test.

Day 2 began with the Indians in a commanding lead from the previous day. KL Rahul too had stamped his authority by scoring a brisk 75 on trying conditions. In spite of this, there was a slow start to proceedings on the day. Especially with the West Indies pacers making the Indians work for their runs, it was clear and evident that the Indians would certainly have to work for their runs.

However, the fact that KL Rahul was reaching yet another overseas ton, the anxiety perhaps got the better of him as he launched a massive six over the mid-wicket fence, thus bringing up is ton.

Also read – West Indies v India 2nd Test, Day 2 – 5 Memorable Moments

Cheteshwar Pujara however, seemed to be clearly rattled as runs didn’t flow or perhaps even come easy from his bat. Although the scoring rate was rather low, the Indians hung on to their wickets as the West Indies went back to the drawing board at the lunch interval. However, shortly after the lunch break, it seemed as though a different West Indies side entered the picture.

It was the same players, only this time, with renewed confidence and some sort of a game plan in mind. The soon dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara after Roston Chase rattled the stumps at the non-strikers end as Pujara walked back to the haven of the dressing sheds for a snail-paced 46.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul batted until it was a drained Rahul that eventually lost his wicket in the latter stage of his innings. An outside edge to Shane Dowrich off the bowling of Shannon Gabriel ensured that it was time for Rahul to depart for a well-made 158. Virat Kohli went about re-finding his form as he was once again in full flow. However, a soft dismissal after a brisk 44 saw Chase capture his second wicket of the match and a supremely important wicket at that.

Ravi Ashwin, tipped to score yet another century failed to make headway as he was trapped leg-before after scoring just the 3 runs. Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane made amends for his failures with the bat in the first Test by remaining unbeaten on 42 while Wriddhiman Saha remained unbeaten on 21 at stumps. Therefore, at the end of 90 overs on the day, the Indians could only muster a paltry 170 runs losing 3 wickets on the day. However, they remain to have the upper hand as they are on 358/5.

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Brief Scores

West Indies, 1st innings: 196 all out ( Blackwood 62; Ashwin 5/52)

India, 1st innings: 358/5 (Rahul 158; Chase 2/91)