Ahead of Monday’s Day 3 of the second game against India in Delhi, the West Indies hadn’t batted 90 overs in seven Tests. They also had no centurion in the format this year. However, a 177-run third-wicket partnership between John Campbell and Shai Hope went a long way in helping the Caribbean side occupy the crease for 118.5 overs in their second innings.
Both batsmen scored tons in the process, and the idea was simple enough, according to Campbell. “Shai and I just wanted to bat as long as possible,” he said. “That was always the plan.” On a pitch players from both teams agree has been good for batting, the pair stayed together for 49.1 overs.
“The hardest thing on [this] wicket is to [get a] start. So we wanted to fight hard for a start, and when we got it, we tried to take it as deep as possible.” Despite a potentially match-defining period where the visitors lost 6 wickets for 40 runs, they still managed to erase the 97-run deficit with which they entered the day.