India extended their advantage at the close of play on day two of the second Test against West Indies at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. The visitors had a sedate start to the day, scoring only 59 runs off 26 overs in the first session, while the second session yielded 74 runs in 28 overs for a solitary wicket. West Indies had some respite when they grabbed three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli, in the final session of the day. However, KL Rahul’s excellent knock of 158 – his third Test century, all overseas – ensured that India were in a commanding position at the end of the day.
Statistical highlights of day two of the second Test:
0 Indian openers scoring a century in their debut innings in West Indies before Rahul. The previous highest was 96 scored by Ajay Jadeja in St John’s in 1997.
5 KL Rahul became the fifth Indian player to score a hundred in his maiden innings in West Indies. His knock of 158 is the highest among the five.
So far, in Rahul’s fairly brief career, what has happened is that the chance has been gleefully accepted. And it is not as if his career so far has been smooth sailing. His only consistent run of Tests came in Sri Lanka, when India were crippled by injuries to both Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. He has only been seen as a solid fall-back option at the top of the order. He’s had to bat with three different opening partners in five Tests in three different countries, but he has managed to score hundreds each time.
Rahul posted his third century after just 11 Test innings in his burgeoning career.
He faced 303 balls before being dismissed by fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, caught down the legside by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich. “My mindset was to play positively,” Rahul said in an on-field interview.
“The wicket was a little slow when we started but it got better as the day went on but the bowlers kept putting the ball in the right area, so it was hard to get runs today.
“The weather was really, really hot. That was the biggest challenge for me. I was cramping.”
Rahul was the only Indian batsman to get past 50.
