Ryan ten Doeschate admits that they expected the wicket to deteriorate as the rationale behind the decision to ask West Indies to follow on.
Credit: X
New Delhi: India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate subtly hinted there could have been some misjudgement from the think-tank in enforcing the follow-on on a slow pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Sunday that didn’t deteriorate as intended.
After dismissing the West Indies for 248 an hour into the second session, the Indians asked the visitors to take strike again as they felt a lead of 270 would be good enough to lay siege on them. But John Campbell (87 not out) and Shai Hope (66 not out) staged a brilliant counterattack with an unbroken 138-run partnership to defy the Indians on a surface that remained flat and hardly offered any help for the spinners.
“There was a discussion to bat obviously,” said Doeschate at a press conference on Sunday. “The last two wickets took a little bit longer than we hoped for. We thought 275 (270 actually) was a good lead. We thought the wicket is going to keep deteriorating. We thought the wicket will be at its worst at the close of play. It seems to have slowed down even more. It’s quite challenging to get any pace on the wicket.
“We have to fire the ball and when you fire the ball in, there are fewer chances of spinning. So we will be back tomorrow, hopefully get four batters and into the tail. I don't think we were a million miles off this afternoon, not to point fingers at the umpire at all. There were three close decisions there. If two of those had gone our way, it would have been a much better day for us.”
West Indies’ spinner Khary Pierre admitted they too were surprised at the declaration, considering the Indians bowled 81.5 overs. “Actually, it was a bit surprising as the wicket was still a good one (for batting). But I wasn't surprised too because it's India and, you know, they didn’t think we could bat this long. I know we still have to bat long and try and make a game out of it.
Pierre said Campbell's and Hope’s heroics have given them the much-needed confidence booster ahead of a make-or-break fourth day. “(Their partnership) gives us a lot of confidence. I think the two batsmen have laid a good platform for us. This is Test match cricket and the wicket is going to deteriorate more. The more runs we can pile on, it's going to be a challenge for the Indian batsmen. The batsmen will have to continue the same thing tomorrow. This gives us a lot of confidence going into the fourth day. If we can get a good lead, we can make a game out of it. I would say the Test match is still on.”