KL Rahul essays a drive during his unbeaten knock.
Credit: PTI Photo
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 cricket Test at Delhi's Arn Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
The Indians need another 58 runs on the final day to win the Test and complete a series sweep after reaching 63 for one at stumps in pursuit of 121 as some spirited West Indies batting led by centuries from John Campbell and Shai Hope saw the visitors take the Test match to the fifth day.
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 did not 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.
Earlier, Campbell (115 off 199 balls) and 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.
India had won the opening Test at Ahmedabad by an innings and 40 runs. This is Shubman Gill's first Test series at home as captain.
(with inputs from agencies)