The Test series concluded in Delhi with a clean sweep that made the fans rejoice all over the country. Shubman Gill took his first series as captain and the home team dominated from start to finish in both contests.
What Happened at Arun Jaitley Stadium?
KL Rahul retired not out at 58 runs on the 5th day leading his team to a comfortable seven-wicket win. The target was merely 121 runs and the team achieved it without any difficulty. Rahul partnered with Sai Sudharsan in a strong 79-run partnership that practically closed the door on any comeback chances.
The contest started with huge first-innings scores. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 175 runs while the captain Gill contributed an unbeaten 129 and declared 518 for 5. An amount like this would impose very serious pressure on any visiting team.
Kuldeep’s Bowling Masterclass
The left-arm wrist spinner absolutely destroyed the opposition batting lineup in the first innings. He grabbed five wickets for 82 runs, completely breaking their backbone. Here’s what made his performance special:
- He dismissed Shai Hope with a beauty that drifted and turned past the forward defense to smash the stumps
- Tevin Imlach got trapped plumb in front by a sharply turning delivery
- Justin Greaves tried a reverse sweep against a leg-break and found himself walking back after an lbw decision
- His googly fooled Jayden Seales to wrap up the innings
Kuldeep finished with eight total wickets across both innings and bagged the man of the Match award. The 30-year-old became the fastest left-arm wrist spinner ever to grab five five-wicket hauls in Tests, doing it in just 15 matches compared to Johnny Wardle’s 28 matches. That’s a world record that’ll stand for a while.
Khelofun offers great coverage of such historic cricket moments where bowlers make their mark on the biggest stage.
Jadeja Leads the Series Performance
Ravindra Jadeja was declared the man of the Series as a result of his splendid performance that gave him great figures in both Tests. The all-rounder showcased his batting skills by hitting a century in his only inning and, on the bowling side, claimed a total of eight wickets.
The decision to push him up the order to bat at no. six has greatly impacted his contest style. This change, however, is all thanks to head coach Gautam Gambhir who deserves a pat on the back for it. Jadeja spoke of how the “proper batter” mindset as opposed to “someone coming in at eight or nine” has drawn great things out of him.
The experienced performer is now ranked third in the all-time list for home wickets taken by the Indian bowler in international cricket with a total of 377 wickets. He has just left behind Harbhajan Singh and is only behind Anil Kumble and Ravichandran Ashwin.
When Things Got Tough on Day 4
Not everything went smooth. The visitors, after having the follow-on enforced, put up a strong fight-back. John Campbell hit his first Test century while Shai Hope ended his eight-year-long wait for a hundred. They dragged the bowlers for over two sessions in their partnership.
Kuldeep and Jadeja both experienced tough days with the ball, and they ended up conceding 104 runs each. The lower order then, with Justin Greaves and Jayden Seales, succeeded in building a stubborn 79-run partnership for the tenth wicket which added to the overall resistance. The second innings total of 390 was a big improvement over the first innings collapse to 248.
Khelofun is one of the tools that follow such comebacks which is the reason Test cricket is regarded as the most unpredictable format even when one team dominates.
What This Series Means
This clean sweep moves the team up to third place in the World Test Championship standings, sitting behind only Australia and Sri Lanka. For Gill, this marks a perfect start to his journey as Test captain.
The spinners bowled a combined 143.5 overs across five days at Delhi. That’s serious workload, especially on pitches that didn’t offer much turn or bounce. Kuldeep mentioned that bowling so many overs was challenging but something he enjoys doing.
What’s Next
The participants of different formats will directly go to Australia for a series of three matches that will begin on October 19. There is almost no time for resting or celebrating. Subsequently, South Africa’s two Test series at home will follow.
The visitors’ first stop is New Zealand whose tour will commence on November 5. They are currently placed sixth in the World Test Championship table and will have to put in some strong performances to step up.
Final Thoughts
The spinners ruled the roost in the series as they were able to take the batsmen out on their home pitches. The difference between the two sides was Kuldeep’s magical variations and Jadeja’s constant all-round performance. The batting also did its job when required with Jaiswal, Gill, and Rahul all coming up with major knocks.
The audience at Arun Jaitley Stadium was happy to see the record-breaking shows and tough fightbacks. The visitors lost both matches but their second-innings fightback in Delhi showed that they still have some fight left in them.
