India Coach Accepts Follow-On Call Was A Mistake? 'Thought The Wicket Was Going To...'

Indian spinners will face a challenging fourth day as the pitch continues to slow down, making batting easier, admitted assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate after the third day’s play in the third Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday.

Following the enforcement of the follow-on, West Indies batters John Campbell and Shai Hope handled the Indian spinners effectively, both scoring half-centuries.

India Vs West Indies: 2nd Test Day 3 – Highlights

“We thought the wicket was going to keep deteriorating and by close of play it would be at its worst. It just seems to have slowed down even more. It’s quite challenging to get any pace up,” Ten Doeschate was quoted as saying at the end of the day’s play.

He echoed Ravindra

Jadeja’s sentiments from the end of the second day, stating that spinners will need to use more shoulder strength to generate bounce and zip off the surface.

Slow Or Fast For Spinners?

However, Ten Doeschate acknowledges that this strategy can be a double-edged sword and may sometimes be counterproductive.

“Like I said, you have to really fire the ball in. Of course, when you fire the ball in, it’s got less chance of spinning. So, we have had a tricky afternoon,” the Dutchman noted.

“Obviously, monitoring speed is probably the one thing you can play with. You saw every time Washy (Washington) bowled a little bit slower, you get a little bit more turn. Obviously, the batter has a bit more time. So, it’s striking the batter and using the changes in pace to get a mistake out of the batter,” he explained.

Ten Doeschate praised left-handed batter Campbell for his powerful sweeping during his unbeaten 87.

“It’s just got to be super patient. Obviously, Campbell has swept very well. So, it’s another thing tactically we can look at. Sometimes we expect a lot from our bowlers and sometimes the wickets are a bit unresponsive,” he said.

(With inputs from Agencies)