Captain Shubman Gill tasted his first series win as captain. By winning the two-match series against the West Indies, India moved significantly ahead in the World Test Championship race. However, several decisions by India in the second match have been questioned, most notably the decision to enforce the follow-on against the West Indies. Gill is now facing questions about why the follow-on was enforced with a lead of around 300 runs. After winning this match, he has given his answer.
The purpose of enforcing the follow-on against the West Indies was to ensure India wouldn't have to bat, but the Caribbeans didn't allow that. They saved the follow-on and forced India to bat again. Their fight has been praised. Especially in a situation where the Caribbeans are accused of moving away from Test cricket, this fight has caught attention. At one point, it seemed the follow-on decision could boomerang.
Speaking about this decision at the post-match award ceremony, Shubman Gill said, "Representing the country is a great honor. I decided to act according to the match situation, and sometimes tough decisions have to be made. You have to see which player will score runs and who can take wickets. We were 300 runs ahead. If we had scored more runs and taken a 500-run lead, we would have had to take 6-7 wickets on the fifth day, which would have been difficult."
In other words, he had calculated the plan to enforce the follow-on. After this series, the Indian team will now go to Australia to play ODI and T20 series. That series starting from the 19th will be pressure-filled. About this, Gill said, "I haven't thought about what I'll do as a batsman and captain in the Australia series. When we go to Australia, we'll have a long flight journey. We'll think then."
