Shubman Gill-led India will face a challenging fourth day in the second Test match as the Kotla pitch continues to slow down, admitted assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate after the third day’s play in the second Test against West Indies at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
After India decided to follow on, West Indies batters John Campbell and Shai Hope handled the Indian spinners effectively, both scoring half-centuries.
“We thought the wicket was going to keep deteriorating and by close of play it would be at its worst. It just seems to have slowed down even more. It’s quite challenging to get any pace up," Ten Doeschate was quoted as saying at the end of the day’s play.
Ten Doeschate opened up on Jadeja's sentiments from the end of the second day, saying that spinners will need to use more shoulder strength to generate bounce and zip off the surface.
Ten Doeschate for Slow Or Fast For Spinners?
Ten Doeschate admitted that this strategy can be a double-edged sword and may sometimes be counterproductive.
“Like I said, you have to really fire the ball in. Of course, when you fire the ball in, it’s got less chance of spinning. So, we have had a tricky afternoon," the Dutchman noted.
“Obviously, monitoring speed is probably the one thing you can play with. You saw every time Washy (Washington) bowled a little bit slower, you get a little bit more turn. Obviously, the batter has a bit more time. So, it’s striking the batter and using the changes in pace to get a mistake out of the batter," he explained.
“It’s just got to be super patient. Obviously, Campbell has swept very well. So, it’s another thing tactically we can look at. Sometimes we expect a lot from our bowlers and sometimes the wickets are a bit unresponsive," he said.
India vs West Indies day 3 report
West Indies batters John Campbell and Shai Hope shifted the momentum of the game on Day 3 of the second Test match against India at Arun Jaitely Stadium in New Delhi. At stumps, West Indies trailed by 97 runs. Campbell (87*) and Hope's (66*) unbeaten stand helped the visitors to end the day in their favour after India enforced the follow-on. The visitors lost their two wickets before lunch, but the duo batted brilliantly against India to survive the final session without losing more wickets.