Day 4 of the second Test between India and the West Indies in Delhi promises a compelling contest, with the home side looking to seize early wickets and the visitors aiming to build on their resilient fightback from the previous evening. West Indies ended Day 3 at 173/2 in their second innings, still trailing by 97 runs after following on.
India enforced the follow-on after Kuldeep Yadav's impressive five-wicket haul helped them bowl out the West Indies for 248 in their first innings, a significant 270 runs behind India's formidable 518/5 declared. The Indian bowlers initially made quick inroads into the West Indies batting lineup in their second innings, but John Campbell and Shai Hope demonstrated admirable resilience to keep India at bay.
Campbell, who is currently unbeaten on 87, and Hope, who is not out on 66, have formed an unbroken 138-run partnership for the third wicket. This is the highest partnership for the West Indies in any Test this year. For Hope, this was his first Test fifty in 31 innings. Their solid performance on Day 3 ensured that the match would extend into a fourth day.
India will be keen to break this partnership early on Day 4 to regain control of the match. The key bowlers in focus will be Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who will be aiming to end West Indies' resistance.
Earlier in the match, India had a strong start, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul building a half-century opening stand. Jaiswal continued his impressive form, notching up a century in the first innings before being run out for 175. Captain Shubman Gill also made a significant contribution, scoring 129.
For the West Indies, the first innings was a struggle, with only a few batsmen managing to reach double figures. Khary Pierre (23) and Anderson Phillip (24) showed some resilience lower down the order, but Kuldeep Yadav's five-wicket haul ensured that the innings ended prematurely.
Notably, West Indies's Jayden Seales was fined 25 percent of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Test against India.
As Day 4 begins, all eyes will be on whether Campbell and Hope can continue their impressive partnership and further reduce the deficit, or whether the Indian bowlers can strike early to put their team in a commanding position to win the match.
