Just days after clinching record ninth Asia Cup 2025 title, Team India is hosting West Indies in a two-match Test series. While the Shubman Gill-led side sealed the first Test to go 1-0 up in the series at the Narendra
Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, they will now lock horns in the second and final Test, set to be played from October 10 to 14 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
In the opening Test of the series, which India won by a margin of an inning and 140 runs in just three days, saw the Men in Blue dominate the visitors across al departments. After Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj decimated the Windies side at 162 in the first innings, centuries from KL Rahul (100), Dhruv Jurel (125) and Ravindra Jadeja (104*) helped India post 286-run lead.
Sunil Gavaskar calls West Indies pacers as “tundlers” and “net bowlers”
However, the Indian bowlers once again proved their strength and bundled out the Roston Chase-led side at 146 in 45.1 overs. Ravindra Jadeja was key as he picked up four wickets, whereas Siraj returned with three wickets whereas Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar also chipped in with a few. Days after West Indies dismal performance on the field, former India cricketer and legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed the side, especially taking a jibe at their pacers.
“In Ahmedabad, apart from Jayden Seales, the other two were simply trundlers, who looked more like net bowlers than international ones," Gavaskar wrote in his column on Sportstar. “No disrespect intended to them, but to see the first bouncer being bowled after half a dozen overs had been bowled made one ask, ‘Is this really the West Indies pace attack?’ Yes, bowling bouncers is a big effort, and on a hot day, it can take a lot out of a bowler, but it is a surprise weapon to stop the batter from moving on to the front foot regularly," he added.
The former India cricketer also recalled the golden past of the Caribbean side, which boasted names like Rohan Kanhai, Seymour Nurse, Clive Lloyd, Desmond Haynes, Garfield Sobers, Viv Richards and the ‘Prince of Trinidad’ Brian Lara. West Indies will aim to regroup and put up a tough fight when they take on India in the second Test, set to be played from October 10 to 14 in Delhi.