"Sometimes we expect too much" - Ryan ten Doeschate backs India's bowlers after West Indies fight back on Day 3 of Delhi Test  

India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate was not too critical of the bowlers after West Indies batters fought back on Day 3 of the Delhi Test. Pointing out that the pitch did not offer too much assistance, he admitted the hosts were hoping the wicket would deteriorate a lot more.

West Indies resumed their first innings on Day 3 of the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday, October 12 at 140-4. They were all out for 248 as Kuldeep Yadav claimed 5-82, while Ravindra Jadeja picked up 3-46. Asked to follow-on, the visitors went to stumps at 173-2, with John Campbell unbeaten on 87 and Shai Hope on 66.

Speaking at a press conference after the end of the third day's play, Ten Doeschate praised the West Indies duo of Campbell and Hope. He, however, backed the Indian bowlers and said:

“Sometimes we expect too much from our bowlers, even when the pitch doesn’t offer much assistance."

On the decision to enforce the follow-on, the former Netherlands star explained that they were expecting the third day pitch to offer a lot more assistance. He said:

“We thought the wicket would keep deteriorating. We felt that by the end of the day, it would be at its worst. But that didn’t happen; instead, it slowed down even more."

Ten Doeschate also admitted that the lack of pace off the wicket made life difficult for India's spinners. He elaborated:

“You have to really fire the ball in. But when you do that, there’s less chance of spin. The afternoon session was tough - Shai and Campbell batted well, found rhythm. We’ll fine-tune our plans and hope to dismiss the last four batters quickly tomorrow."

Following on, West Indies lost Tagenarine Chanderpaul for 10 and Alick Athanaze for seven. However, Campbell and Hope featured in an unbroken 138-run stand as the visitors went to stumps without any further loss of wickets.

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"That makes him more dangerous" - Ten Doeschate hails Kuldeep Yadav

As mentioned earlier, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep was the star in India's first innings for his five-fer. Praising Kuldeep, Ten Doeschate explained that he was more effective than the other bowlers since he is difficult to pick.

“The difference with Kuldeep is that he’s a mystery spinner, not easy to pick. That makes him more dangerous than finger spinners," the Indian coach stated.

The 45-year-old also shed light on India's curious decision of asking left-arm spinner Jadeja to take the new ball. He explained:

“We felt Kuldeep was still extracting spin late in the first innings, but one of the finger spinners with the new ball might get more grip. It could have been Washington too, but eventually Shubman decided to go with Jaddu."

Despite West Indies' fightback. Team India are in a strong position in the Delhi Test. The visitors trail India by 97 runs, with eight wickets in hand.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert