The Indian cricket team had a strange moment on Day 3 of the second Test match against West Indies, thanks to KL Rahul. Just before the lunch break, Rahul took off the bails, making everyone think the session had ended. Some players even started walking toward the dressing room.
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But the umpires quickly clarified that one over was still left before lunch. Ravindra Jadeja bowled that final over, and then the players finally went for the actual lunch break.
While Rahul’s act caused some confusion, the rest of the day belonged to India — especially spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who delivered a brilliant performance. Kuldeep took five wickets, helping India bowl out West Indies for 248 runs in their first innings.
West Indies had started the day at 140 for 4, but Kuldeep’s tight bowling didn’t let them score freely. His key moment came when he dismissed Shai Hope with a smart delivery. After that, the West Indies batting lineup fell apart quickly. Only tailenders Kharry Pierre and Anderson Phillip tried to resist, adding 46 runs for the ninth wicket. Still, their effort wasn’t enough to avoid the follow-on.
India’s captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir decided to enforce the follow-on immediately. This meant West Indies had to bat again, still 270 runs behind. By the tea break, West Indies were struggling at 35 for 2, trailing by 235 runs. Bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar struck early to keep the pressure on.
Earlier in the day, all of India’s bowlers performed well. Ravindra Jadeja had taken wickets the previous evening, and Siraj picked one in the morning. After lunch, Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj removed the lower-order batsmen before Kuldeep wrapped up the innings with his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket — a sign of his growing consistency and value to the team.
At one point, Shai Hope and Tevin Imlach showed some resistance and scored a few runs against Bumrah and Kuldeep. But once Hope got out, West Indies collapsed again, losing four wickets in seven overs to fall to 175 for 8.
In the second innings, West Indies again lost early wickets. John Campbell looked solid on 71, and Shai Hope was batting on 46, but the chase looked tough. Bumrah’s disciplined bowling made scoring difficult, and India’s big lead kept the visitors under pressure.
Despite KL Rahul’s brief moment of confusion, India stayed firmly in control throughout the day. With Kuldeep’s magic spell and the team’s sharp strategy, India are now in a strong position to win the match and seal the series against the West Indies.