Shubman Gill kept the response typically understated after Tuesday’s seven-wicket victory in Ahmedabad completed a 2-0 win over West Indies and, with it, his maiden series triumph as Test captain.
“It’s about taking the right options in the given situation,” he said at the post-match presentation. “I try to make the most probable decision in the given situation that we are in. Sometimes you have to take some bold decisions, that X-factor depending on which player can get you certain runs or get you those wickets.”
Those decisions have delivered four wins from his opening seven Tests in charge – a solid return but, as ever with India, one that will be combed over in detail. The chief talking point came in Delhi when Gill enforced the follow-on despite a 270-run first-innings lead, only for John Campbell and Shai Hope to stitch a 177-run partnership and briefly stir nerves. Gill’s logic was simple enough. “We were around 300 runs ahead and the wicket was quite dead, and we thought even if we scored 500 runs, we have to get six or seven wickets on day five it would be a tough day for us.”
A separate curiosity in the capital was the sight of Nitish Kumar Reddy, the fast-bowling all-rounder, fielding all day without turning his arm over. Gill accepted it looked odd, yet insisted there was method in the apparent idleness. “[He] didn’t really get to bowl any overs in this match but we don’t want players to only play matches overseas – that puts a lot of pressure on the players,” he explained. The idea, clearly, is exposure now and returns later when India travel.
Spin tandem finds its groove
If Reddy barely featured, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav more than made up for the missing overs. Between them the pair claimed 26 wickets in the series and, crucially, shared them – Jadeja’s control freeing Kuldeep to hunt for breakthroughs, Kuldeep’s wrist-spin forcing mistakes Jadeja could then exploit.
“I could get chance to bowl more overs,” Jadeja said with a laugh after collecting the player-of-the-series award. “We’ve been doing wonderful work as a team. We know what brand of cricket we have been playing since last five-six months, so it’s a good sign as a team that we continue to do it for a long period of time.”
Jadeja’s expanding role with the bat – he now walks in at No 6 – is another strand of India’s evolving balance. The left-hander followed up his rescue hundred at Old Trafford with 109 in Ahmedabad, plus sturdy partnerships that guarded a still-fledgling middle order. “In past so many years, I have been batting at No. 8, No. 9, so my mindset was a little different to what I have right now, but [I’m] just trying to spend more time in the middle when I get the chance.”
For Kuldeep, who spent the English summer carrying drinks, the West Indies series felt like a restart. “It’s lovely to have him [Jadeja] around,” he said. “He’s someone who has always guided me in tough situations and giving me some advice and it’s really helping me out.” The chinaman bowler sent down 89 overs across the two matches, his best stretch of red-ball cricket since 2019, and spoke of the simple pleasure: “Playing two Test matches back-to-back is always fun and bowling a lot of overs is something I enjoy.”
Numbers behind the narrative
• India secured victory margins of an innings and 74 runs in Delhi, then seven wickets in Ahmedabad.
• Jadeja finished with 15 wickets at 17.6 and 198 runs at 66.0.
• Kuldeep nabbed 11 wickets at 22.3, showing the drift and sharp turn that deserted him last winter.
• West Indies batted 200.4 overs in Delhi but still conceded an innings defeat, underlining India’s control.
Context, not crowing
Gill knows sterner examinations await: a five-Test home series against Australia this winter, followed by trips to South Africa and New Zealand. But the 25-year-old is not in a rush to proclaim eras or dynasties. “We’re just trying to tick small boxes,” he told the host broadcaster, “and when the tougher tours come we’ll see where we stand.”
The dressing-room mood is, by all accounts, relaxed. KL Rahul, missing here through injury but vice-captain on paper, used social media to applaud “an all-round team effort”. Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey praised Gill’s “clarity”, while noting areas to tighten: the new-ball spells in Delhi, and the first-innings slips catching that let Hope off twice.
West Indies, for their part, leave with two bruising defeats but also glimpses of progress: Hope’s first Test hundred in four years, Alzarri Joseph’s extra pace, and a middle order that no longer collapses at the first hint of spin. Coach Andre Coley spoke afterwards of “better tempo and belief”, adding that the Caribbean quicks will appreciate friendlier surfaces at home.
Where next?
India have a fortnight off before a three-match T20I leg, after which several senior names will disperse for county red-ball stints. The selectors, meanwhile, must decide whether to persevere with Reddy in home Tests or redeploy him to the ‘A’ tour of South Africa. A final word, though, to the captain. Asked how it felt to notch his first series win, Gill shrugged, smiled and said he was “kind of getting used to it”. A small sentence, yet one that suggests – quietly, without fuss – he plans on collecting a few more.
