India on verge of series sweep despite Campbell, Hope centuries

DELHI, India (CMC):

DESPITE FIGHTING centuries by John Campbell and Shai Hope, India are on the brink of a series-winning victory over the West Indies at the end of day four in the second Test match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium yesterday.

Campbell scored his maiden Test century, while Hope ended an eight-year wait for his third Test century, but their hard work was undone by a middle-order collapse that saw them eventually dismissed for 390.

Needing a paltry 121 for victory, India ended the day on 63 for one, requiring just 58 more runs on today’s fifth and final day to seal a 2-0 series win over the visitors.

However, India’s target could have been more sizeable had the West Indies not collapsed from a comfortable position of 271 for three to 311 for nine in the space of 11 overs.

Resuming the day on 173 for two, still trailing India by 97 runs with Campbell and Hope at the crease, there would have been high hopes for the Windies.

Campbell, who was on 87, didn’t take long to register his first-ever Test century in his 25th Test, doing so in emphatic fashion by clobbering left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja over long on for six.

He also became the first West Indian to score a Test century in India since Wavell Hinds in 2002.

Campbell then brought up the 200 for the Windies by cutting pacer Mohammed Siraj behind point for four.

However, Jadeja finally broke the 177-run partnership between the two when Campbell missed a reverse sweep and was trapped lbw for 115 to leave the score 212 for three.

In all, his innings lasted 199 balls and he struck 12 fours and three sixes in his almost four-and-a-half hour stay at the crease.

Hope and skipper Roston Chase then carried the West Indies to lunch at 252 for three, with Hope unbeaten on 90 and eyeing his first Test century since 2017.

It didn’t take him long to reach the landmark after the resumption, guiding Siraj to third man for a boundary to reach three figures.

Together with Chase, they added 69 runs for the fourth wicket and looked well poised to carry their side to a mammoth total, until spectacularly collapsing.

Siraj triggered the meltdown by bowling Hope off the inside edge for 103 from 214 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes.

Tevin Imlach was undone by a ball from Kuldeep Yadav that kept extremely low and trapped him plumb in front for 12, Chase was caught off the bowling of Yadav for 40, and two balls later he had Khary Pierre caught at cover for a duck as he attempted a slog sweep, to see the Windies slip to 298 for seven.

Jomel Warrican then inside-edged Jasprit Bumrah onto his stumps, with the pacer also accounting for the wicket of Anderson Phillip, whose thin edge was taken by the wicketkeeper.

Justin Greaves and Jayden Seales then combined for 79, the second-highest West Indies partnership for the 10th wicket in a Test against India.

It helped to add some respectability to the final total, with Greaves finishing unbeaten on an even 50, before Bumrah returned to dismiss Seales for a well-played 32.

Bumrah was India’s best bowler with 3-44, Yadav took 3-104 and Siraj, 2-43.

In their run chase, India’s first innings centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal was caught on the long on boundary off the bowling of Warrican as he tried to pick up quick runs and possibly end the contest in the final session.

However, following his dismissal, Sai Sudharson, who is unbeaten on 30 and KL Rahul, who is 25 not out, navigated the final few overs to put them in prime position to complete the win early today.