The highlight of an exhausting second day of play in Dominica was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s first century, which helped India continue to dominate the West Indies in the first Test. Jaiswal, who had a record-breaking double-century partnership with captain Rohit Sharma, who also reached his tenth Test century, played with incredible patience as he batted 350 balls to finish unbeaten at 143. Although West Indies took a few wickets in the second session, the hosts didn’t have much else to be proud of. In order to get the visiting team to 312/2 at Stumps and increase the advantage to 162, Jaiswal wore the West Indian bowlers out, breaking Mohammed Azharuddin’s record of 322 deliveries faced by an Indian on debut.
With the pacers bowling precise lines and the spinners getting much of traction from the surface, Rohit and Jaiswal were largely kept in check during the opening session. Only 66 runs were scored in the 32 overs that were bowled in the first session, with Jaiswal being the less active of the two openers as he passed 50 and only hit one boundary before lunch. On his way to his fifty, Rohit was more aggressive, scoring boundaries off pace and spin in addition to hitting a six from Alzarri Joseph over midwicket.
The majority of the overs were bowled by the spinners in the second hour, with ripping turn and additional bounce frequently bothering the Indian openers. Rahkeem Cornwall sailed past Jaiswal’s outside edge and there was a resounding cry for caught-behind, but West Indies lost a review because they believed it was off an edge when there wasn’t. Cornwall’s delivery, which had some extra bounce, gave Rohit a top edge, but the ball eluded backward square leg. The starting lineup survived the trying phase and arrived uninjured during the lunch break.
For Jaiswal, who became just the third Indian opener to record a hundred on Test debut, the second session was all about achievements. As India continued to drive forward in the second session, scoring at nearly four an over, his 229-run stand with Rohit was also the best opening partnership for India against the West Indies. Only six times have both Indian openers achieved hundreds in the same innings of an away Test, and Rohit overcame a trying stretch of short balls from Joseph while Jaiswal, who had been relatively quiet in the first session, smashed a couple of boundaries.
However, Rohit was forced to leave shortly after, handing Alick Athanaze to the keeper, and West Indies made good advantage of the review. Shubman Gill received a fortuitous break as West Indies lost a run-out opportunity due to a weak throw. However, he was quickly dismissed by Jomel Warrican, who had to take on the majority of the spin bowling duties since Rahkeem Cornwall was unable to play in the second session owing to a chest infection. After escaping a leg-before review earlier, Kohli was nearly caught at leg-slip off Warrican, but he and Jaiswal were still undefeated as India’s lead crossed 100 runs at Tea.
India reached the 250-mark in the first over of the last session thanks to a lofted extra cover drive that gave Jaiswal a boundary. When Warrican felt he had Kohli caught at slip off an inside edge, replays showed there was no bat involved and it was also missing the stumps, costing West Indies their final review. While West Indies delayed taking the second new ball, Jaiswal and Kohli were forming a cautious partnership to increase the lead. West Indies used up to nine bowlers in the innings with Jermaine Blackwood’s entry into the attack.
After 20 overs, the second new ball was finally taken with Kemar Roach and Joseph working together. When Roach approached Jaiswal around the wicket and struck him on the pad, a loud appeal for leg-before was not made. The hosts had used up all of their replays when three reds were seen. When the third wicket stand reached fifty, Jaiswal punched a Joseph pitch for a four, and Kohli subsequently hit his maiden boundary by driving it through Warrican’s cover area. At the conclusion of a plodding session in which 67 came off 32 overs, the pair increased the advantage above 150 and continued to be unblemished.