West Indies opener John Campbell called his maiden Test century (115) against India “indescribable.” After a tough first-innings catch, his and Shai Hope’s tons helped West Indies set a 121-run target for India in the second Test.
West Indies opening batter John Campbell expressed his elation over scoring his maiden Test century in the longest format, stating it’s hard to put into words.
He also reflected on his first-innings dismissal, calling it a “freak of a catch”, and expressed gratitude for getting a second chance to contribute significantly to the team.
Campbell, on Monday, brought an end to the Caribbean side’s long drought for a Test century by an opener, scoring his maiden hundred. This ton was the team’s first century against India in 19 years. Campbell played a brilliant innings of 115 runs from 199 balls, which was laced with 12 boundaries and three maximums.
Indescribable Test Century for Campbell
He completed the milestone during the first session of Day 4 in the second and final Test of the series against the Shubman Gill-led side, being played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
“(On registering his maiden Test century) I can’t really put it into words right now. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to describe it. We always spoke about it being a good batting track. As a batsman, once you get a start here, it becomes easier. I think I still went for my shots, it was just about being more selective. My shot selection was a lot clearer in this innings. I’ve always enjoyed playing the sweep. Thankfully, it worked well for me.
(On reaching the hundred with a six) Before the ball, I saw him putting mid-on a little bit closer, so I thought, if it’s close enough for me, I’m going for it. (On his dismissal in the first innings) That was a freak of a catch. Honestly, I couldn’t have done anything different. I am just thankful I could come back in the second innings and make a big contribution for the team,” John Campbell said after the end of Day 4.
Campbell Joins Rare List
Campbell joined a rare list of openers who took the most innings to register their maiden Test century. Leading the chart is South Africa’s Trevor Goddard, who reached his first hundred after 58 innings, followed by Campbell, who achieved the milestone in his 48th innings. Daren Ganga stands third with 44 innings, while Bangladesh’s Imrul Kayes and Australia’s Bob Simpson follow with 32 and 31 innings respectively.
Coming to the match, a fine 10th-wicket partnership between Jayden Seales and Justin Greaves and centuries from Shai Hope and Campbell, stage an incredible fightback and set a 121-run target for India to win the second Test against the West Indies at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
At the end of the day 4’s play, India was 63/1, with KL Rahul (25*) and Sai Sudharsan (30*) unbeaten. They have made sure India was more than halfway through the target after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s early dismissal.
Brief Scores: India: 518/5 declared and 63/1 (Sai Sudharsan 30*, KL Rahul 25*, Jomel Warrican 1/15) against West Indies: 248 and 390 (John Campbell 115, Shai Hope 103, Jasprit Bumrah 3/44).
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