Day 4 of the second Test between India and the West Indies would be echoed in the annals of cricket for a long time to come. The beleaguered-looking West Indies put on a spirited display with the bat to take a lead of 120. After being asked to follow-on, Shai Hope and John Campbell, alongside the last-wicket pair of Justin Greeves and Jayden Seales, made India wait for almost 120 overs to take 10 wickets in the second innings.
At RevSportz, we list out the key takeaways from the day’s play:
Heroics from Campbell, Hope, and the last-wicket pair – Over six years, Campbell hadn’t aggregated a single Test ton. Just pore through his stats and you would notice a slew of 30s and 40s. In the Delhi Test, however, Campbell was a picture of calmness. He also essayed a fair number of sweep shots to keep the spinners at bay. And completed his hundred by smashing one over long-on.
Hope, his partner-in-crime, also, would be a relieved man. Ever since cracking twin hundreds against the ace duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson in Leeds, Hope has grappled with good length and back-of-length deliveries, particularly against pace. His struggles can be exemplified by the fact that for eight long years he didn’t compile another Test hundred.
In the India-West Indies second Test, he picked the length quite early against spin on a slow pitch, helping him to manoeuvre the ball into the gaps. After Campbell was dismissed, he also strung together a partnership of 59 with Roston Chase to ensure that India have to bat again.
Unfortunately, the West Indies suffered a collapse as they slid to 311 for 9. At that juncture, Seales and Greeves strung together an astonishing stand of 79 to frustrate India further. Greeves even completed a fifty while Seales employed the long handle to cream a slog sweep or two. More importantly, all those sterling efforts would have lifted the sagging spirits of the West Indies camp.
Should India have enforced the follow-on? This particular question is currently one of most debated topics on social media platforms. Ultimately, India ended up bowling around 200 overs in the Test. Maybe, just maybe, the Indian think-tank could have given the bowlers some rest after the first innings, especially considering cricket’s packed schedule.
In hindsight, it feels as if India took the West Indies lightly, expecting them to collapse once more. Just that the pitch got slower as the game progressed, making it difficult for the bowlers to run through the opponents. The West Indies batters also need to be commended for their efforts. From India’s perspective, the think-tank would say – all is well that ends well – as they are on course to wrap up the series 2-0.
Why didn’t Nitish Reddy bowl in the Test? The other major talking point of the day was Nitish Reddy not bowling a single over right through the Test. If he wasn’t suffering a niggle, ideally, the seam-bowling all-rounder should have bowled a few overs. If India are trying to groom a seam-bowling all-rounder for overseas conditions, then you need to have trust in his abilities. Logically, too, on a slow pitch that was staying a tad low, his stump-to-stump line bowling, at around 80mph, might have come in handy.
Sai Sudharsan’s promise
Yashasvi Jaiswal will rightly take all the plaudits for his exemplary hundred in the first innings. Shubman Gill too notched up a hundred. But we shouldn’t forget Sai’s batting skills versus spin. Granted that he would face better spin attacks and play in tougher conditions, but his traits of picking the length early and using the depth of the crease were praiseworthy.
Sai, who accumulated 87 runs in the first innings, gave a glimpse of his promise late on Day 4. Jomel Warrican, the left-arm spinner, bowled a delivery on the rough patches just outside the left-hander’s off-stump. The southpaw, however, essayed a wristy drive through the covers. The keynote of that stroke was the bottom-hand control and how he played against the turn with rough patches around. Only a gifted player of spin can bring out such a stroke.
For More Sports Related News: Follow RevSportz