Ravindra Jadeja (4-54), Mohammed Siraj (3-31), and Kuldeep Yadav (2-23) tore through the West Indies batting lineup to complete India’s victory in the Ahmedabad Test within just over one session on Saturday (October 4). After declaring overnight with a 286-run lead, India needed only 45.1 overs to secure a dominant win by an innings and 140 runs, marking a powerful start to their campaign for another WTC final.
Mohammed Siraj gets the early blows
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj began the innings with relentless accuracy, troubling the West Indies openers from the outset. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and John Campbell initially managed to keep their bats away from the moving deliveries, but Siraj eventually induced a mistake. Chanderpaul mistimed a pull shot against a short ball, and Nitish Reddy took a stunning catch diving to his left at short square leg in the eighth over.
With conditions favouring spin, Shubman Gill handed the ball to Ravindra Jadeja as early as the seventh over, and the move paid off immediately. Campbell flicked one straight to Sai Sudharsan at forward short leg, and Brandon King, after a few confident drives, edged one that spun away, with KL Rahul taking a sharp low catch at first slip to leave West Indies reeling at 34 for 3.
Behind the stumps, Dhruv Jurel kept motivating Kuldeep Yadav, reminding him that the batters were finding it difficult to read his variations. Roston Chase became the next victim of that struggle. Kuldeep bowled a pair of flighted deliveries that turned sharply, getting Chase to expect another big turn. However, the clever spinner bowled the next one quicker and slightly shorter, with minimal turn. Caught off guard, Chase failed to adjust, and his off-stump was knocked back as a result of his misjudgment.
Ravindra Jadeja wraps up the inning
India’s sharpness in the field complemented their bowlers perfectly. Yashasvi Jaiswal took a brilliant forward-diving catch at backward point to dismiss Shai Hope, who had edged a cut shot off Jadeja. Alick Athanaze and Justin Greaves tried to stabilise the innings, taking the score to 66 for 5 by the time the players went in for lunch. Their partnership provided brief resistance against India’s relentless attack.
After the break, Athanaze and Greaves applied better technique as India brought Bumrah and Washington Sundar into the attack. Despite looking relatively assured, Athanaze fell to Sundar after playing a shot against the turn and offering a simple catch back to the bowler. The collapse resumed when Siraj struck again, trapping Greaves leg-before with a perfectly executed yorker. Just two balls later, Jomel Warrican attempted a wild swing, only to slice it straight to Shubman Gill at mid-off, continuing the West Indies’ slide.
Johan Layne showed some late resistance by throwing his bat around for a few quick runs. But Jadeja’s return ended his brief flourish when he miscued a lofted shot to Siraj at mid-off. Layne’s dismissal summed up West Indies’ inability to cope with India’s disciplined attack and sharp fielding efforts. The innings ended quickly thereafter, with Jayden Seales trying to attack from the start. He struck a few boundaries to reach 22 off just 12 deliveries but eventually played one back into Kuldeep’s hands. The West Indies innings folded meekly, as India’s bowlers maintained complete control, showcasing a polished all-round performance across pace, spin, and fielding.
Brief scores: West Indies 162 (Justin Greaves 32; Mohammed Siraj 4-40, Jasprit Bumrah 3-42, Kuldeep Yadav 2-25) & 146 (Alick Athanaze 38; Ravindra Jadeja 4-54, Mohammed Siraj 3-31, Kuldeep Yadav 2-21) lost to India 448/5 decl. (Dhruv Jurel 125, Ravindra Jadeja 104*, KL Rahul 100, Shubman Gill 50; Roston Chase 2-90) by an innings & 140 runs