With Dhruv Jurel having hit a brilliant century in the Ahmedabad Test, sending Nitish Kumar Reddy to bat at 5 was a bold call from India. Was it intended to give a push before lunch or a calculated call?
Sabyasachi Chowdhury: Given the state of the match and India’s dominance, promoting Dhruv Jurel up the order was a smart move. Having scored a century in the first Test, he deserved the opportunity. The more runs he scores, the more his confidence will grow. With Rishabh Pant still unavailable, Jurel will look to make the most of his chances and give the selectors a tough decision to make when Pant returns.
Alan John: They wanted more chances for Nitish and he came out strong. He could have pressed on and scored a good hundred. Hopefully he gets more chances like this. Now it’s time to see how he does with the ball.
Akshay Ramesh: Yeah, it was. India wanted to give opportunities to Nitish Kumar Reddy after picking him as an all-rounder in the XI. However, Nitsh was not able to make good use of the opportunity. He was dropped on 20, and he had to push on. There was an opportunity to get a big one, but he threw it away.
Debodinna Chakraborty: Nitish Reddy did exactly what was expected of him. Wasting no time to settle, he immediately attacked the West Indies bowlers. After Yashasvi Jaiswal’s early dismissal within the first half-hour of Day 2, India needed quick runs—and he delivered. Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel would have required some time to get a hand of things.