IND vs WI 2025-26, 2nd Test, Day 1: Yashasvi’s 7th ton, Sai’s 87 lay firm foundation for a big total

IND vs WI 2025-26, 2nd Test, Day 1: Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 7th century and Sai Sudharsan’s solid 87 give India a dominant start.

Brief Scores: IND 318/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 173*, Sai Sudharsan 87, Jomel Warrican 2/60) at stumps on Day 1 vs West Indies

India stamped their authority during the opening Test against the West Indies with an innings and 140-run victory in Ahmedabad. The series had been vital for the Blue Brigade’s qualification points in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27. They met each other again for the second and final game of the series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

The surface on the opening day of the game looked good for batting, as it always has been the case in Asia. However, on one end of the pitch, it was dry, while on the other, there was a decent cover of grass. That made it important for the captain to decide the right ends of his bowlers.

Shubman Gill, the home captain, won the toss for the very first time in his Test captaincy career. He had no hesitation about batting first to pile up a huge score as they went with an unchanged eleven. West Indies made two changes in their eleven, with Anderson Phillip and Tevin Imlach getting a look.

Talking point: Sai Sudharsan back among runs
Sai Sudharsan came into the encounter under incredible pressure of putting up a big score. His place was uncertain before the next home series against South Africa. But the southpaw showed incredible determination and patience in the middle. From the beginning, he started to nail the boundaries besides rotating strike. His 87 runs will be a huge confidence booster for him and the management.

Read More: Delhi Test to be last throw of the dice for Sai Sudharsan?

India make solid start despite KL Rahul’s dismissal to reach 94/1
Both openers, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, were watchful against the new ball. Jayden Seales asked a few tough questions before being slammed for two boundaries by Rahul in his last over of the opening spell. The Karnataka batter took the aggressive route in the 58-run opening stand.

Rahul advanced down the track to smoke Khary Pierre for a six over long-on to put pressure on the young spinner. But he was foxed by a superb delivery from Jomel Warrican. The left-arm spinner cut the pace as the ball hit the seam to spin away from the batter. Rahul went down the track and had no chance of getting back to his crease. He went back to the pavilion with another start of 38 runs with five boundaries and one six.

Sai Sudharsan, under pressure of putting a big score, looked good in the tiny period. India reached 94/1 to end the opening session.

India advance to 220/1 with 162-run unbeaten second-wicket stand
Jaiswal smashed three boundaries in four balls to start the second session with a fine half-century. He looked to take the aggressive route as Sudharsan also contributed in the process. The Chennai-born didn’t repeat the same mistake from the last game and was sound on his backfoot batting. He celebrated his second red-ball half-century amidst cheer from the dressing room.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal, in the blink of an eye, converted the fifty to his seventh Test century. The visiting bowlers didn’t have any answer against the Blue Brigade. The pair put up an unbeaten stand of 162 runs for the second wicket to push them to 220/1 at tea.

Read More: West Indies batting plummeting to new depths; What’s ailing them – A numerical & technical analysis

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 173* shoulders India to 318/2 at stumps 
The eyes were on Sudharsan, who was nearing his three-figure mark. But he couldn’t handle the huge spinning delivery from Warrican. The ball spun back sharply to hit the southpaw’s back leg as the umpire raised his finger. The review couldn’t save him from getting dismissed for 87 runs.

Jaiswal, by the end of the day, crossed his 150. Gill was in his defensive mindset for the last 90-odd minutes and ended with unbeaten 20 runs. Their undefeated 67-run stand shouldered India to 318/2 to end the opening day.

What to expect on Day 2
India will plan to get over the 450-500 run region to almost rule the opponents out of the game. It will also be a great chance for Jaiswal to break various batting records. On a surface that has hardly helped the bowlers, West Indies will need to tighten their lines to dry up the runs. That pressure could result in a wicket.

Read More: Has Dhruv Jurel cemented his spot as India’s second wicketkeeper-batter after Rishabh Pant?

Statistical Highlights from IND vs WI, 1st Test, Day 1

• KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal record India’s third-highest Test opening stand (58) against the West Indies at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
• Shubman Gill won his first toss as Test captain.
• KL Rahul now has the second-most Test runs (687) for India in this calendar year.
• Jomel Warrican has dismissed KL Rahul for the second time in this series at an average of three. The batter has scored six runs in just 32 balls against the left-arm spinner in the ongoing series.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal brought up his 19th fifty-plus score in Tests.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal has registered the most Test centuries (7) as an opener since his debut. Ben Duckett is second on the list with four centuries.
• Since Yashasvi Jaiswal’s debut, he has the joint second-most centuries (7) with Shubman Gill. Joe Root tops the chart with nine centuries.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored 7 Test hundreds so far. That’s the second-most Test centuries for an India batter before attaining the age of 24. Sachin Tendulkar has the most hundreds (11) before becoming 24.
• Sai Sudharsan registered his highest Test score (87).
• The second wicket stand of 193 runs between Yashasvi Jaiswal & Sai Sudharsan is now the highest ever for this wicket at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. They eclipsed the 178-run stand for the second wicket between Sunil Gavaskar & Dilip Vengsarkar against West Indies in 1983.