Rahul, Jurel, Jadeja tons help India tighten grip against West Indies

India tightened their grip on the opening Test by piling on the runs in Ahmedabad, with KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravindra Jadeja all registering centuries. Their efforts powered the hosts to 448 for 5 at stumps on day two, a lead of 286. Remarkably, this marked the third instance in 2025, after Leeds and Manchester, of three Indian batters reaching three figures in the same innings.

Resuming the day at 121/2, KL Rahul and skipper Shubman Gill continued tormenting the inexperienced West Indies attack, as the duo barely broke a sweat before carrying India past the West Indies’ first-innings total of 162 by drinks. The visitors had one chance to send back Rahul, then on 57, when Jayden Seales eked out an outside edge. But the first slip was stationed slightly wide, so the ball flew between him and the keeper. Gill, meanwhile, was in complete control in his essay, bringing up his eighth half-century in Tests before a reverse sweep against Roston Chase ended his stay.

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West Indies managed a sustained spell where they stemmed the flow of runs, with their spinners exploiting the rough patches effectively. By the close of the session, KL Rahul had brought up his 11th Test century, his second on home soil since 2016. However, immediately after reaching the landmark, Jomel Warrican tricked Rahul into hitting a tossed-up delivery to Justin Greaves at extra cover to end his innings.

Rahul’s dismissal brought together Jurel and Jadeja, who cranked up the attack. Jurel unleashed his power game, and soon Jadeja joined the party to send the Windies bowlers to the leather hunt.

Jadeja’s typically forceful approach made him the third centurion of the innings, continuing a pattern first seen during India’s tour of England earlier this year, and repeated at home for the first time since West Indies’ last trip in 2018.

Jadeja’s knock was built around calculated aggression against spin. As the Narendra Modi Stadium’s surface began to break up and the visiting bowlers found sharp turn from the rough, Jadeja counter-attacked by advancing down the track at every opportunity. Of his 11 boundaries, seven came from such ventures, including a six that carried him past the nervous nineties. By the time he raised his bat, West Indies’ spin trio of Jomel Warrican, Roston Chase, and Khary Pierre had been ground down to combined figures of 4 for 283 from 82 overs.

At the other end, Jurel announced his arrival with a compact, assured, and adaptable approach to register his maiden Test century in the second half of the final session. He celebrated his century with a salute to his father, who served in the Indian Army, underlining the personal pride behind the achievement. He eventually perished after hitting 15 fours and three sixes in his 210-ball 125 when Kharry Pierre had him caught behind, much against the run of play.

Three overs later, Jadeja reached his three-figure milestone. He ended the day as India’s second-highest scorer in Tests in 2025, overtaking Rahul.

Brief Scores: India 448/5 (Dhruv Jurel 125, Ravindra Jadeja 104*, KL Rahul 100, Shubman Gill 50; Roston Chase 2-90) lead West Indies 162 (Justin Greaves 32; Mohammed Siraj 4-40, Jasprit Bumrah 3-42, Kuldeep Yadav 2-25) by 286 runs.