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Top stars of the Indian men's team and support staff arrived at head coach Gautam Gambhir's residence here in the national capital on Wednesday for a special dinner ahead of the second Test against the West Indies.
The second fixture of the two-match series is scheduled to kick off on Friday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Before the contest, Gambhir hosted an open-air dinner for the entire squad and the support staff. The whole team arrived at Gambhir's residence in a bus, dressed in casual wear. India captain Shubman Gill wore a t-shirt, which he paired with blue denim and black glasses. The majority of the team stuck to white, including Jasprit Bumrah, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Prasidh Kirshna, assistant Ryan ten Doeschate and bowling coach Morne Morkel. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla also arrived for the special dinner. In the two-match series, India currently holds a 1-0 lead following their emphatic win by an innings and 140 runs in Ahmedabad. Vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja's all-around heroics made the headlines as the hosts notched a mammoth win by an innings and 140 runs. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bowled in tandem and wreaked havoc to make the West Indies regret their decision to bat first. With four millimetres of live grass spread over a red-soil surface, Bumrah and Siraj extracted threatening bounce and went about their business gleefully. On the first morning, the tourists were bowled out on a trivial 162 in 44.1 overs. In reply, KL Rahul (100), Ravindra Jadeja (104*) and Dhruv Jurel (125) made the West Indies bowlers toil, while fuelling India's innings to a daunting 448/5. The Shubman Gill-led side declared overnight and invited the West Indies to chase down the deficit. The West Indies succumbed to the pressure and packed their bags on 146 and surrendered to an unescapable defeat. The second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium is expected to be a batting-friendly strip, featuring patches of grass interspersed with bald areas, a complete contrast to the one prepared in Ahmedabad. The Ahmedabad pitch had a uniform appearance, with even grass coverage. On the other hand, the Delhi pitch is expected to have a black-soil base. The surface of the Arun Jaitley Stadium will likely come in aid of batters. As the game progresses and the pitch gradually dries up, the spinners will play a vital role. The last time Delhi hosted a Test match dates back to the second of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023. During that fixture, Australia opted to bat and suffered a six-wicket defeat inside three days. (ANI)
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