WEST Indies Test captain Roston Chase said the second-innings fight the team displayed in the second and final Test against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, India, is the type of fight that can instil confidence in the squad to churn out winning performances against better teams.
In the second Test versus India, which concluded on October 14, West Indies fell to a seven-wicket loss after putting in a spirited second innings performance, which saw them score 390 when asked to follow-on. In West Indies’ second innings, opener John Campbell (115) scored his maiden Test century in his 25th match, with white-ball skipper Shai Hope (103) scoring his third Test century. It was the first time Hope got to the century mark in Tests after his his pair of centuries against England in a Headingley Test back in 2017. The 177-run stand for the third wicket between Campbell and Hope was the highest for the Windies in Tests this year.
A last-wicket partnership of 79 between Justin Greaves (50 not out) and Jayden Seales (32) helped to push the West Indies lead past 100, with India being asked to chase 121 for the series win. Chase (two for 36) got the ball to grip on the fifth day track and got the scalps of Sai Sudharsan (39) and his opposite number Shubman Gill (13). However, the West Indies didn’t have nearly enough runs to defend as KL Rahul (58 not out) brought up the winning runs with a punch past mid-on off left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican to take the hosts to 124 for three as they completed the comfortable series win.
Despite the series loss, Chase was pleased with the improvements his team showed after the first Test in Ahmedabad, which saw them being bowled out meekly for 162 and 146 as they crashed to a disappointing innings and 140-run defeat.
“This is the kind of fight I wanted to see from us in matches before, so I think this is a building step for us to go forward and improve,” Chase said. “As a Test playing nation, this is the type of performance I think will give us the confidence and boost, and that belief we can do it against proper Test playing nations.
“I just want to see the guys continue in this vein and not let us go back to those ways. Even if it’s for us to lose, we have to lose in a good way, a positive way, where we can have positives coming out of the game.”
In the regional team’s preceding Test series against Australia in June/July, coach Daren Sammy’s team fell to a 3-0 series loss. West Indies had an awful end to that series as they were bundled out for 27 in the second innings of the third and final Test at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica – the second-lowest team score in Test history. The team’s showing in that day/night, pink-ball Test at Sabina Park prompted Cricket West Indies to convene a two-day emergency meeting in Trinidad.
With the Men in Maroon without the services of pacers Alzarri and Shamar Joseph for the India tour, Chase said the bowling looks in good order once the team is fully fit. However, he said the batting department still needs work as it has been the team’s Achilles heel.
“As I said in the press conference before the game, once we can put good first-innings totals on the board, we will be able to fight for some wins in the Test Championship.”
Chase acknowledged that the Test series against the Aussies and India were always going to be tough, while he said a three-match Test series away to New Zealand will pose its own challenges. However, he reckons the Windies can catch their length in the 2025-2027 World Test Championship Cycle when they face opponents such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“I think we can be more competitive against those (teams) once we learn from these games,” Chase said.
The West Indies Test skipper said his team needs to do a better job at adjusting to the conditions before them and do the necessary hard yards to be consistent for longer periods.
“We know and do the basics, but we don’t do them for long enough periods. Test cricket is obviously for five days, so we can’t just do it for one or two sessions. You have to try to win more sessions than the opposition.”
Once players break into the international setup, Chase suggested they should be giving a longer run in the team to find their stride, as they may not have a strong or lengthy First-Class background to fall back on compared to players from other international teams.
He hopes the fight shown in Delhi for the second Test can lead to a happier dressing room and translate to more wins for the Men in Maroon.
“I think the fight we showed in this last game will give us that belief and confidence to know that we have what it takes to perform at this level. It’s just to consistently keep working hard, believing, and working as a team.
“Sometimes we don’t really have that joy in the dressing room because we’re not really playing good, so it’s not really enjoyable to come out there and be on the losing end. Once we can still find that enjoyment in still playing and working hard for each other, I think that will take the group forward.”
Sammy and his West Indies team have little time to rest on their laurels as they will now journey to Bangladesh to play a three-match One-day International (ODI) series and a three-match T20 series. The first ODI bowls off on October 18 at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka.
Summarised Scores:
INDIA – 518/5 declared (Yashavi Jaiswal 175, Shubman Gill 129 not out, Sai Sudharsan 87; Jomel Warrican 3/98) & 124/3 (KL Rahul 58 not out, S Sudharsan 39; Roston Chase 2/36) vs WEST INDIES – 248 (Alick Athanaze 41, Shai Hope 36, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 34; Kuldeep Yadav 5/82, Ravindra Jadeja 3/46) & 390 (John Campbell 115, S Hope 103, Justin Greaves 50 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 3/44, K Yadav 3/104). India won by seven wickets.
