Follow UsIndia’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that the Delhi surface hasn’t deteriorated as much as they would have liked after Shubman Gill and Co. enforced the follow-on on Day 3 of the second Test against West Indies on October 12 (Sunday).
After posting a massive 518/5 declared in the first innings, India’s spinners ran through the West Indies lineup, with Kuldeep Yadav claiming five wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 248, giving India a lead of 270 runs. India then did something they hadn’t done since 2015 - the last time they enforced a follow-on with a first-innings lead of under 300 was against Bangladesh in Fatullah.
India hoped for more assistance for their spinners in the second innings, but the surface didn’t quite deliver. Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar picked up a wicket apiece to reduce West Indies to 35/2, but John Campbell (87*) and Shai Hope (66*) have added an unbeaten stand of 138 runs. The visitors are now trailing by just 97 runs with eight wickets in hand.
“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, as quoted by News18.
“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.
“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.”
Both Campbell and Hope survived a close call, but ten Doeschate said patience will be key for the Indian bowlers on this surface. “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.”