The 2-Test series saw a dominant run from India. From the sensational debut of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Kumar to the exquisite mastery of seniors Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli – the Indian team gave no breathing space to West Indies.
India have their next Test series scheduled in December against South Africa and the blueprint for the transition in the Indian Test team has been laid out with the West Indies tour. Here are the key takeaways from the just-concluded India vs West Indies Test series.
Yashasvi Jaiswal – Dawn of a New Prince
‘He came, he saw and he conquered’. Jaiswal’s fairytale journey continued with his India debut in the first Test match against the West Indies in Dominica. His marathon debut innings of 171 runs off 387 balls has ensured that Indian cricket is in safe hands. A quality left-hand opener has arrived to stay and serve for a long time.
The knock showed the mad range of Jaiswal. He attacked at the beginning before showcasing his solid temperament by playing defensive cricket and spending time in the middle. The 21-year-old in his first-ever outing for India, showed no nerves.
The Mumbai batter never got carried during the course of his innings. He maintained his calm even after reaching the three-figure mark. The hunger to learn and score runs are keys to the success of any batter at the international level and Jaiswal has got both. He reconfirmed it by scoring 57 and 38 in the second Test to finish the series as the leading run-scorer.
Virat Kohli 2.0 Plus
Virat Kohli and his fans had to endure a long wait for the 71st international hundred. However, once he got the monkey off his bat by scoring it against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022, white-ball hundreds started to flow from his bat once again. The wait for a Test hundred also got over during the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 at a batting-friendly Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Kohli could not guide India to a WTC final triumph against Australia but he looked gold during his 49-run stay in the second innings. The revamped version of Virat Kohli could just not take off and a five-year wait for an away Test hundred continued.
But as many predicted watching the 2.0 version of the batting maestro, Kohli ended the drought with a masterful hundred in his landmark 500th international match. Kohli 2.0 version just got upgraded to 2.0 Plus with his 76th international hundred in Port of Spain.
Kohli is back to his absolute best. The former captain looks finally settled in his role as a specialist batter only. He is enjoying his batting, his time with the newcomers and the last lap of his international career. A fresher and more clear King Kohli would again be haunting opponents in the future.
Shubman Gill needs to justify his batting position at number three
Gill asked to bat at three and the management gave him permission. However, 6, 10 and 29* is only what he could score. India will be touring South Africa in December and batting at number would become tougher. Gill quickly needs to find a way to score runs at his favoured number three spot. With Jaiswal already delivering as an opener, Gill could be under pressure to perform after demoting himself at three. There are high chances that Gill would bat at number five in the future but tough competition awaits for him.
Jaydev Unadkat might just have played his last Test
The Saurashtra captain made a comeback to the Indian Test team after a decade and played the second Test of his career during the Bangladesh tour in December last year. The left-arm pacer took three wickets in the Mirpur Test before being benched for the entirety of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 and then the WTC final.
In the absence of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, he got the opportunity to feature in the eleven of both the Test matches against West Indies but failed to take a single wicket. In the second innings of the second Test, Mukesh Kumar was preferred ahead of him with the new ball.
With Shami and Jasprit Bumrah certain of travelling to South Africa and Mukesh Kumar making a strong case for himself on debut, Unadkat is very likely to miss out. Unadkat might just have played his last Test match for India.
Ishan Kishan’s rise means KS Bharat’s fall in pecking order
In modern day cricket being just a good wicket-keeper doesn’t work. Batting capability and that too in its boldest format is the new pre-requisite to become a wicketkeeper-batter. KS Bharat failed to make the most of his first five opportunities, scoring just 129 runs at an average of 18.42.
Ishan Kishan got the opportunity on the tour and he grabbed it with both his hands. His 33-ball unbeaten fifty in the second innings of the second Test has completely sidelined KS Bharat for now. India have got the ideal like-for-like replacement for injured Pant.
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