New Delhi: The Indian bowling attack faced a stern test of character on an unresponsive sub-continental track but came out trumps, leaving the hosts on the cusp of a 2-0 clean sweep over a fighting West Indies on the fourth day of the second Test here on Monday.
The Indians need another 58 runs on the final day to win the game after reaching 63 for 1 at stumps in pursuit of 121.
Jasprit Bumrah (3/44 in 17.5 overs), Kuldeep Yadav (3/104 in 29 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (1/102 in 33 overs), Mohammed Siraj (2/43 in 15 overs) and Washington Sundar (1/80 in 23 overs) toiled hard for more than 118.5 overs in the second innings.
They eventually bowled out the West Indies for 390, leaving the home team with a target of 121 to chase in 18 overs left on the fourth evening.
KL Rahul (25 batting) and Sai Sudharsan (30 batting) looked comfortable but didn’t take too many risks after Yashasvi Jaiswal (8) holed out in the deep.
This was after Siraj struck a decisive blow with the second new ball before Kuldeep Yadav ran through the lower-middle order as Indian bowlers found their mojo in the post-lunch session on day four.
John Campbell (115 off 199 balls) and Shai Hope (103 off 214 balls) added 177 runs for the third wicket to show the Caribbean team’s stomach for fight but the Indian bowling unit’s patience paid off once the second new ball came into operation post lunch.
But Jayden Seales (32) and Justin Greaves (50 not out) added 79 for the final wicket to take the match into day five.
The only consolation from this match for the West Indies would be two centuries that forced India to bat for the second time.
It was a sincere bowling effort as Kuldeep, Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Jadeja all played their part with timely dismissals.
The Indian bowling unit can take heart from the fact that they had to bowl for long across two innings in conditions which were not conducive for either spin or pace.
The dead pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla didn’t show any signs of wear and tear even well into the fourth day.
The balls did keep low and it became West Indies’ batters undoing but it was more about their poor choice of shots rather than some dream deliveries getting them out.
Such was the monotony that even the broadcasters didn’t seem too interested in dissecting the on-field game and asked their analysts to focus on the ODI series against Australia which starts this Sunday.
In the morning, Campbell completed his first ever Test hundred in 25 appearances with a slog sweep six off Ravindra Jadeja over the cow corner.
With no sting in the track, playing spinners was an easy job for the batters who were batting quite comfortably till Campbell had a brain fade.
On a track where most of the deliveries from left-arm spinners were being pitched on leg-middle line, Campbell tried an ambitious reverse sweep and DRS ruled him leg-before.
Even Campbell’s dismissal didn’t matter much as skipper Roston Chase (40) and Hope also looked comfortable during their 51-run stand for the fourth wicket. It seemed that West Indies would make a match of it with a challenging fourth innings total.
However, once the new ball was taken after the 80th over, Bumrah and Siraj, despite the docile nature of the track, softened up Hope with a few short balls.
