New Delhi: By design or default, the Indians got pretty much what they wanted: a slow-burning pitch for the second Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
But sadly, the Kotla track didn’t disintegrate as they desired, the surface only getting slower as the match progressed. The odd ball turned sharply, but it bore no demons, making it a hard toil for the bowlers.
The Indians, who made an extremely bold call in asking the West Indies to follow-on despite bowling 81.5 overs in the first innings, struggled to make a similar impact in the second. In the face of a stubborn resistance from John Campbell and Shai Hope, both of whom struck centuries, coupled with a flat pitch and a hot day, the Indians literally were made to sweat in their own bastion. It’s not something that occurs frequently.
The Indians, though, bowled with plenty of discipline to dismiss the West Indies twice, and spinner Washington Sundar, who managed to bag one wicket in the match, praised his colleagues for the effort. “On this kind of a wicket, you just need to have a lot of patience and try and hit those areas more consistently. That’s the only challenge. It’s very heartening to have actually taken 20 wickets on a wicket like this,” he said at a press conference on Monday evening.
“All of the bowlers bowled really well. Even the fast bowlers bowled their hearts out every single spell. So it’s very heartening, honestly. This, I would say, is a typical Delhi wicket where there’s not much bounce. And obviously, there wasn’t a lot of turn to offer. Different venues play quite differently, and that’s the beauty about this format in particular.”
Sundar said patience was very important on such a slow track. “Patience and perseverance are key, like you said. But it’s very important not to really chase the results. Obviously, trying to get them out and trying to get them all out as well. But it’s very easy to get into that mindset. But what’s more important is to bowl good deliveries every now and then. If you’re able to bowl those good deliveries consistently, you will be able to pick wickets. Especially with this format, with both bat and ball, you have to be really patient.”
West Indies’ John Campbell, who finally scored his maiden Test century in his 25th game, said the second innings fightback from his side, where they scored 390 runs, would give them a much-needed confidence booster after recent multiple batting debacles.
“I think it’s a big positive for us. Having not gotten the best first innings, we came out in the second innings and batted over 100 overs. So that’s a big plus for us. The coaches always back us. They instil confidence in us. When Shai (Hope) and I got together, as I said earlier, we just wanted to take it as deep as possible. The hardest thing on the wicket is to start. So we wanted to fight hard from the start. And when we got to the start, we tried to take it as deep as possible.”