Port of Spain [Trinidad and Tobago], July 21 : The new Indian opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal joined the elite company of some great opening pairs on Thursday, becoming only the fourth to complete two century stands in away Tests. Jaiswal-Rohit did so during the second Test against West Indies at Port of Spain. Virat Kohli Becomes First Player to Score Half-Century in His 500th International Match, Achieves Feat During IND vs WI 2nd Test 2023.
After a double-century partnership in the first Test, Jaiswal-Rohit continued their good form in the second Test, forming an opening partnership of 139 runs. The first opening pair to accomplish two century stands in an away series was Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan against England in 1979. It was followed by Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra in Australia in 2004 and Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer against West Indies in 2006.
The Indian pair with the most successive century stands is Sehwag and Murali Vijay, who did so from the year 2008 to 2009. 'They are followed by pairs of Gavaskar and Farookh Engineer (1973-74), Gavaskar and Anshuman Gaikwad (1976), Gavaskar and Arun Lal (1982) and Sadagoppan Ramesh and Devang Gandhi (1999). Coming to the match, at the end of the second session on day one, India was at 182/4, with Virat Kohli (18*) unbeaten. IND 288/4 in 84 Overs | India vs West Indies Highlights of 2nd Test 2023 Day 1: Virat Kohli-Ravindra Jadeja Partnership Brings India Back On Track.
India started the session at 121/0, with Rohit Sharma 63*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 52* unbeaten at the crease. But their partnership broke at 139 runs, with the fall of Jaiswal for 57. Shubman Gill (10) and Rohit (80) fell in quick succession, leaving India at 155/3. Virat then took innings forward with vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who fell for eight on the final ball of the second session.
WI elected to bowl first after winning the toss.