India vs West Indies 2nd Test Day 3: Campbell and Hope hold firm at 173/2, West Indies still trail India by 97 runs after follow-on

West Indies batter John Campbell and Shai Hope showed some fight for the visitors on Day 3 of the second Test match against India at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. At Day 3 Stumps, West Indies trailed by 97 runs, but the unbeaten stand from the duo gave them a glimmer of hope after an otherwise tough day.

Campbell (87*) and Hope (66*) have added some much-needed resistance in the second innings after India enforced the follow-on. The duo came together after West Indies lost two early wickets before tea, and they’ve batted brilliantly against India to survive the final session without losing more wickets. 

Earlier in the day, the West Indies started their innings at 140 for 4. The Indian bowlers didn’t take long to strike, with Kuldeep Yadav once again weaving his magic. The left-arm wrist-spinner removed the well-set Shai Hope (36) with a peach of a delivery that drifted in and knocked over the off-stump.

After that, the West Indies batting side collapsed as the Uttar Pradesh spinner picked up a fifer for  82 runs, his fifth five-wicket haul in just 15 Test matches, as India bowled out the visitors for 248 in 81.5 overs. The only real resistance came from Khary Pierre (23) and Anderson Phillip (24), who added 46 runs for the ninth wicket.

With a mammoth 270-run lead, India captain Shubman Gill, backed by head coach Gautam Gambhir, chose to enforce the follow-on against struggling West Indies. 

West Indies had a bad start in the second innings as Mohammed Siraj picked up the first wicket with a short ball to get rid of Tagenarine Chanderpaul. Skipper Gill confirmed that wicket with a brilliant catch diving at midwicket. Washington Sundar then dismissed Alick Athanaze with a classic off-spinner’s delivery, leaving the visitors at 35 for 2 at tea.

However, after the break,  Campbell and Hope dug in. They showed patience and discipline, playing out a long session against a high-quality Indian attack. Both looked solid, especially against spin, and picked off boundaries whenever the bowlers erred.

Brief scores:

India 1st innings: 518 for 5 declared; 134.2 overs

West Indies: 248 and 173/2; 49 overs (John Campbell 87 batting, Shai Hope 66 batting; Mohammed Siraj 1/10, Washington Sundar 1/44).