Following the conclusion of the third day of play in the second Test match against the West Indies in New Delhi on Sunday, assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate acknowledged that the Indian spinners will have a difficult fourth day in office because the pitch is becoming slower, which makes batting much easier.
Following the imposition of follow-on, West Indies batsmen John Campbell and Shai Hope easily negotiated the Indian spinners, helping themselves to half-centuries.
“We thought the wicket was going to keep deteriorating and by close of play it would be at its worst. It just seems to have slowed down even more. It’s quite challenging to get any pace up,” Ten Doeschate said at the end of the day’s play.
Actually, he supported Ravindra Jadeja’s statement at the end of the second day that spinners would need to employ their shoulders more in order to get bounce and zip off the surface.
Ten Doeschate, however, believes that it is a two-edged sword that occasionally backfires. “Like I said, you have to really fire the ball in. Of course, when you fire the ball in, it’s got less chance of spinning. So, we have had a tricky afternoon,” the Dutchman said.
“Obviously, monitoring speed is probably the one thing you can play with. You saw every time Washy (Washington) bowled a little bit slower, you get a little bit more turn. Obviously, the batter has a bit more time. So, it’s striking the batter and using the changes in pace to get a mistake out of the batter,” he tried to explain what is doable in this kind of a situation.
Ten Doeschate had nothing but respect for left-handed batsman Campbell, who swept with great vigor on his way to an unbeaten 87.
“It’s just got to be super patient. Obviously, Campbell has swept very well. So, it’s another thing tactically we can look at. Sometimes we expect a lot from our bowlers and sometimes the wickets are a bit unresponsive.”
Ravindra Jadeja shared the new ball with Mohammed Siraj in the second innings, even though Kuldeep Yadav had taken five wickets in the first.
Asked to explain the rationale behind such a decision, he replied, “Yeah, I’ll be honest. The thinking there was the hardness of the ball. So we felt Kuldeep still extracted some spin towards the back end of the first innings.
“We just felt one of the finger spinners going with the new ball maybe it would just grip a little bit more. So we sacrificed the mystery part of it for someone who is hopefully going to get a bit more bite out of the pitch with the finger spin. And that was the thinking that worked out.”
Ten Doeschate said there was a toss-up between Sundar and Jadeja for sharing the new ball.
“There was a deliberation with whether Washi or Jaddu would take the new ball. Obviously one of the seamers bowling from the other end. And Shubman obviously decided to go with Jaddu,” he said.
Ten Doeschate believed that things would have turned out differently if a few umpires’ calls against Campbell and Hope had gone their way, even if Kuldeep has yet to claim any wickets in the second innings.
“I think, obviously, the difference with Kuldeep is he’s a mystery spinner and he’s not the easiest to pick. So, I think that buys him a little bit more. He has an element of danger compared to the finger spinners. But, also, I don’t think we’re a million miles off this afternoon, not to point things at our pipe at all,” he said.
“But, there are three very close decisions there. If you can even two of those, it’s a much better day for us. But, yeah, Kuldeep put the ball in the right area and spun it both ways.”
Ten Doeschate believed that there was no difference between the first and second innings in terms of lines bowled and lengths struck by Kuldeep.
“You can see how small the margins are and how he got the wickets in the first innings. It’s just play and miss compared to getting an edge and not getting wickets. But, I certainly think the fact that a lot of these guys wouldn’t have faced more of him, but still, you know, that mystery element makes him a little bit more effective than the other two.”
With Rishabh Pant missing due to injury, Dhruv Jurel performed remarkably well in front of and behind the stumps. Jurel has been a huge asset for India in this series, scoring a century in the first Test and 44 in this Test.
“I think the first name that springs into mind is Dhruv. We always knew that he’s a quality player. Obviously, the 100 in the first Test and also the way he went about it yesterday. You know, no qualms about trying to push on. He could have got a not out there. He was on 44. The message went out. We’re going to try to clear it pretty soon. And it takes him on and gets out straight away,” Ten Doeschate said.
“So, in terms of the culture, how we want guys to play, you know, playing for the team first, we’ve been very impressed with what we’ve seen from him.”
“Nitish Kumar Reddy getting a little bit of (batting) time in the middle was also important. I think Shubman’s captaincy is coming on nicely as well. It’s very important for a young captain. It was a very tough trip to England where he excelled. I think he’s built on that just in the 10 days he spent together.”
