"There was discussion to bat": India assistant coach Doeschate on enforcing follow-on on WI in Delhi

New Delhi [India], October 12 : Following his side's largely fine day at work after the third day of the India-West Indies Delhi Test, India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate said that there was discussion to bat again before the decision to enforce a follow-on on the Windies was taken and hailed John Campbell and Shai Hope for their fine partnership, which has kept the visitors alive in the game at the end of the day's play.
Campbell and Hope, with their half-centuries, staged a commendable fightback for the West Indies as they trailed by 97 runs after being forced into a follow-on by India during the second Test at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. WI were bundled out for 248 runs in their first innings after India had declared their first innings at 518/5.
Speaking on how the decision to enforce follow-on on the West Indies came, Doeschate said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, "There was a discussion to bat. Those last two wickets took a little bit longer than we would have hoped for, and had probably started going towards the space where you do look to bat again."
"But we felt [270] was a good lead. We thought the wicket was going to keep deteriorating, we thought by the close of play it would be at its worst, but it just seems to have slowed down even more," he added.
The assistant coach said that the spinners had to "fire the ball in" to the pitch, as there was a lack of pace on it, and as a result, the ball did not spin much.
"We have found it tricky this afternoon, and Shai Hope and John Campbell batted beautifully, so back tomorrow, get our plans right, and hopefully get those last four batters out and then get into the tail," he added.
Doeschate also hailed Kuldeep for his four-wicket haul, saying that his "mystery" and "element of danger" make him "difficult to pick".
"The difference is Kuldeep is that he is a mystery spinner, and there is an element of danger associated with it compared to finger-spinners. He is very difficult to pick. Kuldeep bowled in the right areas and spun it both ways," he added.
He also hailed skipper Shubman Gill and vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja for their leadership, pointing out how the latter is showing his value to the team when most of the teams start to look ahead of players of his age.
"Shubman's captaincy is coming on nicely. He excelled on a difficult tour of England, and he continued to build on that, and he conveys the messages to players a lot more now. Jadeja's getting to an age where you start looking beyond him, but he is showing how valuable he is," he added.
Khary Pierre, the all-rounder who scored a valuable 23 in the first innings and had a 46-run stand with Anderson Phillip, which pushed the Windies past the 200-run mark and towards 248 eventually, said that he was surprised by India's decision to bowl even though the wicket was a good one to bat on.
"I was surprised, but it's India, and you know they want to get the win, and probably didn't think they needed to go back and bat, but so be it. We have to bat properly in this innings and try and make a game of it."
With eight wickets in hand and the deficit down to double-figures, Pierre feels the Windies has a chance to have a proper contest the game is "still on".
" I would say the Test match is still on," he said. "Once we apply ourselves with the bat, we have two set batters at the crease right now that will start over tomorrow, and once we bat properly, the game is still on. Once we get a lead, we all know, on the fourth and fifth day of a Test match, the bowlers will come and probably get some balls to spin and stuff and make a game of it," he concluded.
At the end of the day's play, the West Indies were 173/2, with Campbell (87*) and Hope (66*) unbeaten.
WI started the third day at 140/4 in their first innings, with Hope 31*, TA Imlach 14* being unbeaten. Kuldeep cleaned up Hope for 36 in 57 balls, with five fours, ending the fifth wicket stand at 49 runs, with a score of 156 on the board.
Khary Pierre (23 in 46 balls, with four boundaries) and Anderson Phillip (24* in 93 balls, with two fours) tried to slug it out for the Windies, but Kuldeep Yadav (5/82) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/46) were simply too much for them as they were skittled out for 248 runs in 81.5 overs. Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj also got a wicket.
Earlier on day one, India had won the toss and opted to bat first. A 58-run stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul (38 in 54 balls, with five fours and a six) kick-started things for India before a sharply turned delivery by Warrican removed Rahul. Jaiswal had a 193-run stand with Sai Sudharsan (87 in 165 balls, with 12 fours) and a 74-run stand with skipper Shubman Gill (129* in 196 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes). Jaiswal himself was run out for a marathon 258-ball 175, consisting of 22 fours. Gill went on to score his fifth ton of the year, stitching stands with Nitish Reddy (43 in 54 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel (44* in 79 balls, with five fours) as India declared their first innings at 518/5.
Warrican (3/98) was the top bowler for WI.
Despite scores from Tagenarine Chanderpaul (34 in 67 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Alick Athaneze (41 in 84 balls, with five fours and a six), Windies lost their four wickets, ending day two at 140/4.
Brief Scores: India: 518/5 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 175, Shubman Gill 129*, Jomel Warrican 3/98) vs WI: 248 and 173/2 (John Campbell 87*, Shai Hope 66*, Mohammed Siraj 1/10).