Campbell leads Windies fightback against Kuldeep-inspired India

John Campbell and Shai Hope smashed unbeaten fifties as West Indies produced their most resolute session of the ongoing Test series by reaching 173/2 in 49 overs and trailing India by 97 runs at stumps on day three of the second and final game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.

From 35/2 at tea, the final session going wicketless and in the visitors’ favour was down to a spirited response from a side that had been under pressure for much of the tour due to their lack of fight in all departments. Campbell, who hit a career-best unbeaten 87, and Hope, who broke his drought of fifties by hitting 66 not out, stitched an unbeaten 138-run stand – the first hundred-plus stand by West Indies in Tests this year.

It helped steer the West Indies to near-safety after being asked to surprisingly follow on by India, who had bowled them out for 248 in the first innings, thanks to Kuldeep Yadav’s 5-82. From 35/2 at tea, Campbell and Hope rallied with grit and discipline to ensure this was the first session of the series that decisively went their way, while showing composure and application against spin and pace.

Campbell was particularly assured, mixing solid defence with timely strokes, and being proficient on the sweep, fetching him 35 runs. Hope, meanwhile, anchored the innings with calm authority and easily got his runs through cover and mid-wicket regions. Their counter-attacking partnership not only frustrated India, but also injected belief into a dressing room that has endured a tough few days.

With the deficit under 100 and two set batters at the crease, West Indies will look to build on this momentum and force India to bat again in the match. On the day eight wickets fell in front of 15,500 fans, Kuldeep was in supreme control with his guile, variations, and drift to bowl mainly at the stumps and pick his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests on a slow pitch not offering much bounce.

The day began with Hope and Tevin Imlach looking comfortable before Kuldeep’s spell took flight. From the North End, his show began when he got drift on a flighted delivery to beat Hope’s forward defence and hit the off-stump. Kuldeep ended Imlach’s resistance when he got one to turn in a lot and trap the wicketkeeper-batter plumb lbw.

Justin Greaves was dismissed in a bid to reverse-sweep off Kuldeep, who got sharp drift and turn on a peach of a legbreak to trap him lbw. Mohammed Siraj became the first pacer to pick a wicket in the match when Jomel Warrican reached for a full ball outside off-stump, but chopped onto his stumps.

At 175/8, a swift end to the West Indies’ innings was in sight, till Khary Pierre and Anderson Phillip put up a solid resistance by a 46-run stand. With the ball getting softer, the duo applied themselves to defend solidly and used their feet well to get the odd boundary for 15.3 overs before lunch break arrived. But a lethal Bumrah drew first blood post-lunch by sending Pierre’s off-stump on a cartwheel ride.

Jayden Seales had some fun being astute in his defence and getting boundaries with a mix of luck and rollicking shots. Shortly after the new ball was taken, Kuldeep beat the inside edge of Seales and trapped him lbw to get his five-for. West Indies’ last two stands fetched them 73 runs, though it wasn’t sufficient to avoid the follow-on.

With the follow-on enforced, Campbell began with two boundaries off Ravindra Jadeja, before Siraj drew first blood with a well-directed cross-seam short ball that cramped Tagenarine Chanderpaul for room on a pull, and skipper Shubman Gill ran from mid-wicket to mid-on to complete a stunning catch.

Though Campbell continued to get boundaries off Jadeja, Washington Sundar produced a moment of magic by deceiving Alick Athanaze with a rip-roaring off-break which drifted in and went past the outside edge to hit the off-stump at the stroke of tea.

Campbell began the final session by lofting Jadeja for six, before sweeping Sundar for four, even as Hope slog-swept the latter for a maximum. Campbell managed to narrowly escape thrice when he was undone by a drift from Sundar for lbw, but he managed to survive.

The sweep became Campbell’s go-to shot – bringing it out to take boundaries off Sundar and Kuldeep, before lofting off the latter to bring up his fifty in 69 balls, also the first half-century by a West Indies batter in this series.

Indo-Asian News Service

Brief Scores:

India 518/5 in 134.2 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 175; Jomel Warrican 3-98) lead West Indies 248 in 81.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 41, Shai Hope 36; Kuldeep Yadav 5-82, Ravindra Jadeja 3-46) and 173/2 (f/o) in 49 overs (John Campbell 87 not out, Shai Hope 66 not out; Washington Sundar 1-44, Mohammed Siraj 1-10) by 97 runs.