It was a period when play meandered along, the exception being the moment Rahul reached his third Test century, hoisting the part-time off spin of Roston Chase over wide long-on for the first six of the innings.
Advertisement
Rahul batted with confidence once he passed the three-figure mark just before lunch, hitting Devendra Bishoo for two sixes and adding 43 runs to his tally.
KL Rahul shone with the bat on the second day and produced his all-time best performance in a Test match scoring a brilliant 158 helping India take a dominant lead against the home team on a hard Sabina Park turf last night.
India could score only 232 runs in the 88 overs bowled on the second day to finish at 358/5 at stumps and Simmons said he could see a lot of improvement in his bowlers.
At the end of Day 2, India looks in a strong position to pick up another victory over inexperienced West Indian Team. This is Rahul’s first century against West Indies and all three of his centuries have come outside India.
Also read: Is KL Rahul the long term replacement for Shikhar Dhawan?
Pujara became a little over defensive with his first run on the second day coming off his 35th delivery. Kohli’s innings had four boundaries and a six. However, the Indians looked more intent on scoring quick runs in the final session, and that led to their downfall as Shannon Gabriel removed Rahul for 158 with an edge down the leg side.
For Rahul, it was a case of making full use of the opportunity as it is his third Test ton in overseas conditions.
The only difference from the Antigua Test was perhaps that West Indies weren’t allowing easy scoring, and had tightened up.
He put on 121 for the second wicket with Pujara, who was run out for 46 after lunch by Chase’s direct throw to the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
Kohli then joined Rahul and the two have so far strung together an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 51 off 112 balls, with Kohli on 21 in 51 balls. The West Indies’ decision to delay the new ball helped him settle down, and he was beaten only once in the first 20 deliveries that he had faced.
Kraigg Brathwaite (0-26) was put to bowl, much to everyone’s surprise, and soon the runs began flowing again as India went past the 250-mark in the 90th over, as the two batsmen put up 50 runs for the 3rd wicket off 106 balls.
Advertisement
India added just 59 runs, albeit without loss, in the first session before Rahul continued on his way, reaching his highest Test score.
