Prima facie, it might seem that for the Indian Test team – the two-time runners-up of the ICC World Test Championship – the recently-concluded Test series against West Indies inclines more towards ‘eight points dropped’ than ‘16 points gained.’
Whilst India won the series 1-0, they couldn’t complete a clean sweep, with the combination of Port of Spain’s erratic weather and a flat deck resulting in a drawn second Test.
That being said, however, there have been learnings – which could be especially crucial for the next couple of years, with the team aiming to be third time lucky by lifting the 2023-25 ICC WTC title.
Here’s what we learned from the series:
Yashasvi Jaiswal Is Here To Stay
Despite his incredible batting displays in the Indian Premier League (IPL), there were a few concerns about Yashasvi Jaiswal being India’s new opener, considering he has played only 17 first-class matches.
Yet, the youngster has done enough to make a strong case for becoming an all-format cricketer for the national team. In only his first innings in Test cricket, be it against an attenuated West Indian bowling unit where confidence was found wanting, Jaiswal scored 171 runs.
Skills used in this innings were not particularly along the likes of Jaiswal’s usual skills on show during the IPL, as unlike Port of Spain, the pitch in Dominica did ask the batters a tricky question of two.
The youngster, with skipper Rohit Sharma to guide him, used his guile and dexterity with equanimity, taking 105 deliveries to bring up his half-century, and 110 more deliveries to score his maiden international ton.
The next half-century – helping him to score 150 runs – was perhaps the most challenging of the three, with the pitch gradually becoming tailor-made for the spinners, and Jaiswal utilising 135 deliveries to score these 50 runs.
In the second Test, with the pitch now favouring the batters, the 21-year-old took only 49 deliveries to bring up his half-century – proving that albeit he is a horse for all courses, he knows how to implement the horses-for-courses approach in his batting.
With 266 runs, Jaiswal was the leading run-scorer of the series, with the selectors presumably heaving a sigh of relief, now that one major area – the opening slot – seems secured for the ongoing WTC cycle.
The challenge will be sterner in South Africa, where India will be playing their next Test series, but it is safe to assume that the pair of Sharma and Jaiswal will be opening the innings for India in the rainbow nation.
Ishan Kishan Rises to the Occasion, at the Expense of Bharat
KS Bharat might find cricket a rather harsh business, and he will not be wrong in his judgment, for it indeed is so. Having only played five matches, wherein he managed to get past the 30-run mark on only one occasion, India’s erstwhile ‘number one’ option to replace Wriddhiman Saha saw him getting benched by Ishan Kishan in this series.
As for the latter, Kishan’s Test debut might have reminded him of a kid being drafted into a team of adolescents for the solitary purpose of fielding. He kept wickets for more than 200 overs, took a couple of decent catches, but could only score a run before India announced the declaration.
But from the selectors’ perspective, perhaps, keeping was Kishan’s biggest Test, with his capabilities with the bat being well-documented after the IPL.
Batting opportunities were more in the second Test, albeit the 25-year-old was obligated to steer clear of his 20-ball 1 from the first match, and get into his usual attacking groove.
The first innings saw him scoring an underwhelming 25, but in the second innings, with the threat of rain looming large, he scored a half-century in only 33 deliveries – the fifth-fastest among Indian cricketers in this format.
With no drawbacks being evident from his keeping either, it will not be surprising to see Kishan retaining his place behind the stumps in the series against South Africa.
Mukesh Kumar Makes His Mark, Unadkat Doesn’t
A niggle sustained by Shardul Thakur presented Mukesh Kumar with the opportunity to make his international debut in Trinidad, and despite the surface having very little to offer, he ended up picking up two wickets.
It took the pacer four deliveries to find an outside edge, albeit that particular opportunity did not result in a catch. Mukesh’s first six overs yielded only 11 runs, including a couple of maidens, and in the seventh over, Kirk McKenzie became the 29-year-old’s first victim in Test cricket.
On being re-introduced into the attack, he dismissed the promising Alick Athanaze at the time the batter was looking comfortable on 37, by trapping him leg before wicket.
While it does seem that Mukesh has been successful in making his mark, the same cannot be said about Jaydev Unadkat. Having picked up three wickets on his return to international cricket last year, in a Test match against Bangladesh, Unadkat will be returning from the Caribbean islands with nothing to show for.
The left-arm pacer played both matches, bowling a total of 28 overs. In those, he conceded 63 runs but could not scalp any wicket, being the only Indian bowler who returned empty-handed from the series.
With Mohammed Shami likely to be on the flight to South Africa, and Jasprit Bumrah also nearing a return; at 31, Unadkat’s time in international cricket might be nearing its conclusion.
A Few New Questions To Be Answered
While the trio of debutants were impressive, a few established players provided more questions than answers.
With Jaiswal being roped in as a new opener, Shubman Gill was demoted to number three – a role he has struggled to adapt to, in this series. He could score only 16 runs in his first couple of attempts, and was unbeaten on 29 in the last innings of the second Test.
Moreover, with the term ‘phasing out’ being thrown around often, Ajinkya Rahane emerged as an exception as he was re-instated as the vice-captain of the Test team, following his WTC final exploits.
Yet, having scored only 11 runs in this series, he might have presented the selectors with a requirement to reconsider their decision.
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