India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has put his weight behind the team’s bowlers after the West Indies fought back on the third day of the Delhi Test on Sunday. West Indies were asked to follow on after they were bowled out for 248 runs in the first innings.
India still had 270 runs in the bank and invited the visitors to bat again. However, the decision to enforce the follow on didn’t go according to plan as the Windies finished strongly at 173-2, with Shai Hope and John Campbell unbeaten on 66 and 87 respectively on stumps. India bowlers had a tough day at the office as the visitors showed gumption with the bat.
At lunch on the fourth day’s play, the tourists were 252-3 with Hope still at the crease.
Ryan ten Doeschate said in the post-day press conference, “Sometimes we expect too much from our bowlers, even when the pitch doesn’t offer much assistance.”
Explaining the decision to enforce the follow on, the Dutchman said, “We thought the wicket would keep deteriorating. We felt that by the end of the day, it would be at its worst. But that didn’t happen; instead, it slowed down even more.”
The former Netherlands batters admitted that the lack of pace in the Delhi track made life difficult for Indian bowlers.
He added, “You have to really fire the ball in. But when you do that, there’s less chance of spin. The afternoon session was tough – Shai and Campbell batted well, found rhythm. We’ll fine-tune our plans and hope to dismiss the last four batters quickly tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Doeschate showered praise on Kuldeep Yadav, who returned with impressive figures of 5-82 in the first innings.
“The difference with Kuldeep is that he’s a mystery spinner, not easy to pick. That makes him more dangerous than finger spinners,” the Indian coach stated.
“We felt Kuldeep was still extracting spin late in the first innings, but one of the finger spinners with the new ball might get more grip. It could have been Washington too, but eventually Shubman decided to go with Jaddu.”
India would look to bounce back strongly on Monday.
