'The match is still on...': West Indies star hopeful of saving second Test against India despite follow-on

West Indies spinner Khary Pierre is confident of his team's comeback in the second Test against India and said that the match is still on. Despite West Indies' precarious position in the match, Pierre expressed his desire for the team's batters to capitalise on the pitch, which is proving slow to deteriorate, and ideally drag the 2nd Test match into the fifth day.

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Khary Pierre feels West Indies are still in the game

Sunday proved to be the Windies batters' best day with the willow. After India enforced the follow-on, having skittled out the visitors for 248 in the first innings, the second innings saw key contributions from Shai Hope, who scored 66, and John Campbell, who made 87.

“I think the wicket is still a good one, with the odd balls spinning a little bit. All in all, I think the wicket is going to deteriorate more going on into the test match, so, it’s all about batting as low as possible to try and get that wear and tear, you know, to even get even worse,” Pierre said after the close of Day 3's play.

“I would say, as of now it is a good track to bat on but once we continue to bat, going on to the last session on fourth day or into the fifth day, I think it’s going to deteriorate a lot, stay low and spin a little more. I would say the Test match is still on. Once we bat properly, I think the game is still on and once we get a lead, we all know on fourth, fifth day of a Test match, you know, probably get some balls to spin and stuff and make a game of it,” he added.

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John Campbell, Shai Hope hold fort for West Indies

Driven by the determined knocks from John Campbell and Shai Hope, the West Indies concluded day three of the second Test against India at 173 for 2. Having been asked to follow on after being bowled out for 248 in their first innings, Campbell (87 not out off 145 balls) and Hope (66 not out off 103 balls) displayed immense character. They built an unbroken 138-run partnership that successfully cut India's significant lead down to just 97 runs when stumps were called. Earlier in the day, wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was instrumental in India's efforts, completing a five-wicket haul that helped to bundle out the West Indies for 248 in their first innings.