After being asked to follow on by India on the third day of the second Test on Saturday, the West Indies batters displayed a rare fortitude to survive and fight another day, with John Campbell saving his best for last with a counter-punching unbeaten 87. West Indies reached 173 for two at stumps thanks to an uninterrupted 138-run partnership between Campbell and Shai Hope (66*).
For the West Indies to force India to bat again and avoid losing by an innings, they still need to score 97 runs and Campbell and Hope’s counterattack would boost their confidence before their tour to New Zealand.
With his fifth five-for in Test cricket, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (5/82) had set the stage for an early conclusion in the first two sessions, as the West Indies collapsed for 248 in their first innings.
Given the 270-run deficit and their history of three consecutive poor batting performances, it was anticipated that the Indian spinners would easily run through the Windies lineup. The scorecard for the West Indies was 35 for 2 going into the tea, but Campbell changed his tactics by going on the attack and taking the aerial route against Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja.
Batting was not challenging because the pitch offered no noticeable wear and tear and the occasional deliveries kept the low. In order to keep the scoreboard moving after witnessing Campbell return the attack to the opposition camp, Hope also became more confident and muscled Kuldeep and Washington Sundar once each.
Following a string of boundaries, Indian captain Shubman Gill was compelled to use a “in-out” field, which made it easier for the two batters to farm the strike. Despite his heroics in the first innings, Kuldeep once bowled with a long-on, deep extra cover and deep square leg, demonstrating his defensive approach.
As Jadeja had pointed out, the spinners had to use their shoulders more to generate some zip off the surface because there was little noticeable bite. However, after bowling 81.5 overs, the weariness was evident. With Hope hitting eight fours and two sixes, the pair was effortlessly playing the spinners from the back foot. In addition to hitting two sixes, Campbell hit nine boundaries.
The way the West Indies performed in the second innings will undoubtedly give head coach Darren Sammy optimism that there are still some players who can play with purpose rather than just to pad the stat sheet. In their first innings, West Indies began the day at 140 for 4, and just after the first half hour, Kuldeep had a magical moment to dismiss Hope (36), who had previously been set.
Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up tail in the post-lunch session before Kuldeep entered the game to finish with his fifth five-wicket haul in the 15th Test match. One five-for in every three games is an incredible record for a bowler who has always been known as a condition-based bowler.
The visitors were looking down the barrel as the West Indies batting unit’s incompetence was once again exposed in the morning when Kuldeep displayed a moment of magic to dismiss Shai Hope. Kuldeep bowled a brilliant delivery to dismiss Hope (36) and set the tone for the hosts after Jadeja had removed the top order on the second evening.
Kuldeep got one nearer to his head and fired it a little faster after initially lowering his bowling arm from a broader angle. Hope was playing inside the line when there was noticeable drift, and it beat his outside edge to pin back the off-stump.
The prospect of a resurrection vanished as soon as Hope fell. Tevin Imlach (21) was dismissed leg-before by DRS after playing a leg-break on the back foot.
Playing those risky reverse sweeps bowled on the stumps was never going to be viable for 17-year-old Justin Greaves. Jomel Warrican then played one off Mohammed Siraj onto his stumps.
When Bumrah didn’t precisely look dangerous in the morning, Hope and Imlach attempted to perform a rescue operation. Imlach and Hope both handled Bumrah with ease, and even Kuldeep took a couple of blows. But the floodgates opened as soon as Kuldeep bowled that delivery to Hope. The next group of batters headed straight for the pavilion.
West Indies were reduced to 175 for 8 after losing four wickets in seven overs. Anderson Phillip (24) and Kharry Pierre (23) added 46 runs for the ninth wicket, but the visitors were not able to avoid the follow-on.
