West Indies left-arm off-spinner Khary Pierre has warned the Indian team that the Arun Jaitley Stadium pitch will break down further, potentially setting up the game for his team. His words came at the end of day three, when the West Indies ended at 173/2 in the second innings.
In response to India’s 518/5d, the West Indies made 248 runs in their first innings, thanks to Kuldeep Yadav’s 5/40. However, thanks to 87* by John Campbell and 66* from Shai Hope, the Windies had made 173/2 at stumps. They need only 97 more runs to avoid an innings defeat and make India bat again.
Asked when he expects the track to deteriorate further, the left-arm spinner replied, "I think the wicket is still a good one, with the odd balls spinning a little bit. All in all, I think the wicket is going to deteriorate more going into the test match, so it's all about batting as low as possible to try and get that wear and tear, you know, to even get even worse."
"I would say, as of now, it is a good track to bat on, but once we continue to bat, going on to the last session on the fourth day or into the fifth day, I think it's going to deteriorate a lot, stay low, and spin a little more," Pierre added.
Pierre thinks the game will still go forward if they can play cricket properly tomorrow.
"I would say the Test match is still on. Once we bat properly, I think the game is still on, and once we get a lead, we all know on the fourth or fifth day of a Test match, you know, we'll probably get some balls to spin and stuff and make a game of it,” he added.
Pierre was all praise for his teammates.
"The runs are no surprise, as he has been working hard. He applied himself today, and you can see the rewards. I think he batted really well and with a lot of energy. Hope they give us some kind of stability and something (runs) to work with.
It's just about continuing, and the thing is, on these wickets, once you get a start, you have to score big, and that's the objective, and that's what the batting coaches try and preach. These things, once you get a start, try and catch him, you know, for the team,” he added.
India’s best bowler, Kuldeep Yadav, who took five wickets in the first innings, went for 53 runs in 11 overs in the second innings.
(PTI inputs)
