Siraj's Fiery Spell Leads India's Demolition of West Indies in Ahmedabad Test

Mohammed Siraj produced a devastating spell to spearhead India’s dominance on the opening day of the first Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad, taking 4 for 40 as the visitors were dismissed for just 162 inside 44.1 overs. The Hyderabad pacer fell narrowly short of a five-wicket haul, but his impact was decisive, and his effort etched his name into the record books.

Siraj became the first bowler across all teams in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle to reach 30 wickets in 2025, moving past Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who has 29 this year. His opening burst was particularly lethal, with three wickets in a probing seven-over spell that ripped through the West Indies top order.

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After lunch, he returned to deliver arguably the ball of the innings, jagging one sharply into Roston Chase, who edged behind for 24. Siraj thought he had his fifth when Greaves was given out leg-before, only for DRS to overturn the decision, while another edge from the same batter fell agonisingly short of the slips.

The innings’ brevity created an unwanted statistic for the visitors. Their 44.1-over stay was the second-shortest first innings by a touring side in India, only behind Bangladesh’s 30.3-over effort in the 2019 day-night Test at Eden Gardens.

India’s attack complemented Siraj superbly. Jasprit Bumrah, continuing to regain rhythm after a packed white-ball schedule, claimed 3 for 42, reaching 50 Test wickets at home in just 24 innings — the joint-quickest alongside Javagal Srinath. He was at his best with the old ball, firing in trademark yorkers to shatter the stumps of Greaves and debutant Johann Layne. Kuldeep Yadav (2/25) chipped in with a beauty to dismiss Shai Hope before wrapping up the innings with the scalp of Jomel Warrican, while Washington Sundar (1/9) trapped debutant Khary Pierre leg-before.

For the visitors, Greaves offered resistance with a spirited 32 off 48 balls, adding 39 runs with Pierre to drag the total past 150. But once Sundar broke that stand, the lower order capitulated quickly under Bumrah’s precision.