Ahmedabad, Oct 3: In-form opener KL Rahul’s serene unbeaten 11th Test hundred and Shubman Gill’s composed fifty helped India tighten their grip on the first Test against the West Indies by taking a lead of 56 runs at lunch on day two’s play at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.

India added 97 runs in the morning session for the loss of just Gill and reached 218/3 in 67 overs at lunch interval. Rahul, who resumed from 53, survived a close call in the first over when an edge off Jayden Seales flew between slip and keeper.

West Indies’ decision to go defensive early - fielding just one slip - proved costly, as Rahul capitalised on the reprieve and brought up just his second Test century at home. He walked off at lunch unbeaten on 100 off 192 balls, laced with 12 fours and has the company of wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who was steady on 14 not out.

Gill, after surviving a probing test where the West Indies’ pacers looked to trap him lbw due to his tendency to put his front foot across, looked fluent afterwards. His eighth Test fifty – also his first half-century at home as India’s Test captain – was studded with signature short-arm pulls and crisp drives.

But just as he appeared set for a big one, Roston Chase lured him into a reverse sweep and that caused his downfall as Gill gave a catch to slip to fall for 50 off 100 balls, a knock laced with five boundaries. The dismissal marked the only breakthrough for West Indies in a session where their bowlers found occasional turn from the rough but couldn’t build sustained pressure.

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The pitch offered variable bounce, especially from the rough created by Seales’ follow-through, which Chase and Khary Pierre tried to exploit. But Rahul, after that scratchy start, looked increasingly comfortable through his soft-handed defence, late cut, and repertoire of sweeps.

Just before lunch break came, Rahul got to his hundred with a single past diving mid-wicket and celebrated getting to the century by raising his bat up in one hand and sticking two fingers of the other in his mouth, which was a little tribute to his daughter born in March this year.

With seven wickets still in hand and Rahul going strong thanks to the technical refinements that has elevated his home average to nearly 50 over the past year, India will look to extend their lead deep into the second session and bat West Indies out of the contest.

Brief Scores: West Indies 162 in 44.1 overs (Justin Greaves 32; Mohammed Siraj 4-40) lead India 218/3 in 67 overs (KL Rahul 100 not out, Shubman Gill 50; Roston Chase 2-37, Jayden Seales 1-35) by 56 runs

(IANS)

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