I had done a piece for Moneycontrol last week asking if we can see a West Indies resurgence in this series. The piece was based more on hope than substance. In my heart of hearts, I did not think I will see anything positive. In fact, my belief was further reinforced after the first Test. West Indies were rank bad. They just folded up and it was one of the worst Test matches you can see.
The very same thing continued in Delhi in the first innings. There was hardly any resistance and I was feeling like a cricket tragic for having written what I had. The two-tier Test cricket argument was gathering steam by the minute. And then came Day 3 and 4 of the Delhi Test. Against all odds and all expectations, West Indies showed resistance. Every ball played was a story. Forget the nature of the track. Forget it was good for batting. The battle was more mental than anything else.
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Against the Indian spinners can the West Indians stand firm and resist? How many of us had given the West Indies a chance to stage a fightback and avoid the innings defeat? How many of us believed we would see two centurions from the West Indies and that too in the second innings? How many of us believed that the game would go into Day 5? And yet it all happened. That’s what the sport is all about. It allows you a second chance to redeem yourself.
Shai Hope, who hadn’t scored a Test century since his twin hundreds in England in 2017, stepped up and scored a fantastic ton. While it couldn’t save the West Indies from defeat, what it did was show the world what the team is capable of. That there is still fight left and that they belong. It is this team that had won a Test match against Pakistan in Pakistan where South Africa is struggling at the moment. So not all is lost for West Indies cricket and yes, I too feel vindicated!
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Take the innings from John Campbell. He has scored multiple 30s and 40s since his debut and never had gone on to make it big. He did and it could well be a turning point in his career. When he was asked at the end of the day's play what he was feeling he said he couldn’t express it in words what the hundred meant to him. That’s where things will change for Campbell. He will now be a far better player and that’s what sport is all about. Hope the two-tier Test argument has been binned for now and no one will question the presence of the West Indies at this level.
Coming to India, I don’t think the follow-on was a wrong call. They pushed the call and experienced something that will make them better going forward. To bowl 200 overs on the trot couldn’t have been easy and yet the Indians managed to close things out in the end. That’s what Test cricket is and should be all about and no one should regret any of it. We have witnessed a fantastic Test match and the game is the winner in the end.
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