NEW DELHI: West Indies continued to show signs of batting progress as John Campbell and Shai Hope struck centuries to drag the second and final Test against India to Day 5 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here. At stumps on the penultimate day, India reached 63 for 1, chasing 121 for a 2-0 clean sweep.
Earlier on Monday, India were made to toil through long sessions as the visitors’ lower order fought hard, with Justin Greaves also scoring a gritty fifty and adding a valuable final-wicket stand with Jayden Seales. Kuldeep Yadav followed up his first-innings five-wicket haul with three more, while Jasprit Bumrah also bagged three to bowl West Indies out for 390 in the final session.
India’s quest for an early breakthrough on the fourth morning was frustrated by a determined effort from the two overnight batters — Campbell and Hope. The pitch had flattened considerably, and the West Indian duo saw off a probing five-over burst from Bumrah, who found a hint of reverse swing. Campbell survived a close LBW shout, with replays proving inconclusive.
Ravindra Jadeja operated alongside Bumrah and kept probing but found little purchase from the surface. Changing angles, Jadeja kept testing Campbell, who lingered in the 90s before lifting him for a six over midwicket to reach his maiden Test hundred. However, shortly after drinks, Campbell was trapped by Jadeja while attempting a reverse sweep. Skipper Roston Chase then joined Hope, and the duo carried West Indies safely to lunch at 252 for 3.
Hope brought up his first Test century in 58 innings soon after lunch, even as India took the second new ball. His dismissal came against the run of play when Mohammed Siraj found low bounce and bowled him off an inside edge. Gill then turned to left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who had an eventful spell, first being lofted twice by Tevin Imlach, before trapping him in front with a quicker delivery.
Chase batted solidly for his 40 before flicking Kuldeep to Devdutt Padikkal at short midwicket, while Jomel Warrican’s middle stump was flattened by Bumrah. The lead quick soon had Anderson Phillip edging behind to Dhruv Jurel, reducing West Indies to the brink.
But the final-wicket pair of Seales and Greaves frustrated India with a defiant 79-run partnership across 22 overs. Greaves notched a well-earned half-century and Seales made 33 before holing out to Washington Sundar at deep square leg, ending a stand that consumed nearly 30 overs and pushed India’s bowlers to 118.5 overs in the innings, their longest effort since the Ahmedabad Test against Australia in 2023.
In reply, Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early while trying to clear long-on, but KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan steadied the chase with measured batting under fading light. India will resume on Tuesday morning, 58 runs away from completing a whitewash of the West Indies.
Brief Scores: India 518/5 decl. (Yashasvi Jaiswal 175, Shubman Gill 129 not out, Sai Sudharsan 87; Jomel Warrican 3-98) & 63/1 (Sai Sudharsan 30 not out, Rahul 25 not out; Warrican 1/15) trail West Indies 248 (Alick Athinaze 41, Shai Hope 36, TagnarineChanderpaul34 )& 390 (f/o) (John Campbell 113, Shai Hope 103, Justin Greaves 50; Jasprit Bumrah 3/44, Kuldeep Yadav 3/104) by 58 runs.
Agencies