Campbell, Hope fight back after India enforce follow-on

John Campbell and Shai Hope led a strong, defiant fight back in the final session on Day 3 in Delhi after India enforced follow-on. Kuldeep Yadav picked his fifth Test fifer that helped India bundle out West Indies for 248 in much better batting conditions. India then chose to send them out again and even made a couple of inroads before the third-wicket pair came together to keep the fight going. For the first time in six Tests across their last three bilateral tours against India in India, West Indies have taken the game to the fourth day's play.

In the morning session, Shubman Gill offered Kuldeep a change of ends from where he was bowling on the previous evening, giving him the chance to use the rough around the batter to make things happen. All the grit that Tevin Imlach and Shai Hope showed on the previous evening and the third morning against Jasprit Bumrah was shattered by the left-arm wrist spinner. He got the ball to turn, dip and question the judgment of the two batters in the middle. Hope went first, playing for the turn that didn't come. He played down the wrong line and was cleaned up by a ball that straightened after pitching full on off-stump. Imlach then fell after rocking onto the backfoot to flick a turning ball away, only to get trapped leg before.

India went up in appeal for a catch at forward short leg and the umpire agreed, prompting a review from Imlach. The replays showed daylight between bat and ball, but the check for LBW sent him packing, with a review in tow. Justin Greaves tried to upset his rhythm by trying to pre-meditate a reverse sweep against the turn, but he too fell LBW. Mohammed Siraj then rattled Jomel Warrican's stumps to reduce West Indies to 175/8. Khary Pierre and Anderson Phillip led the next fight back, defending solidly against Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja for a 42-run partnership leading into the lunch break.

Pierre's vigil was ended by a snorter from Bumrah in the second session - bowled from round the stumps that straightened to beat the left-hander's outside edge and floor the off-stump. The last-wicket pair of Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales frustrated India for the next 9 overs before Kuldeep completed his fifer with the wicket of the latter. Phillip finished unbeaten on 24 having played out 93 deliveries. Despite being on the field for 81.5 overs, Gill opted to enforce follow-on with a lead of 270 runs.

John Campbell and Tagnarine Chanderpaul saw out the first eight overs but the latter lost patience in the ninth. He went hard against a short delivery from Siraj and miscued his pull shot. Gill sprinted to his right from short mid-wicket and took a diving catch. Washington Sundar used the round the wicket angle and ample drift to then flummox the left-handed Alick Athinaze to rattle his stumps six overs later, triggering a slightly early Tea break.

When they returned, Campbell and Shai Hope came with the idea of throwing their bat around. Campbell tonked Jadeja for a six over long-on and Hope went after Washington Sundar. Much to the chagrin of the off-spinner, he was at the wrong end of three close LBW calls against Campbell in the space of 12 deliveries. First, Campbell went for a sweep against a delivery that was too full and Sundar got an LBW decision go his way. Campbell reviewed and UltraEdge showed a spike as the ball passed the glove. That could've also been the bat hitting the ground but the TV umpire overturned the on-field call. The on field umpire said no to the next two LBW appeals and India took it upstairs. On both occasions, the impact of the ball hitting the pad was marginally the umpire's call. It prompted Sundar to have a brief conversation with the umpire, but nothing more came from it.

Gill turned to Kuldeep for the first time in the innings in only the 22nd over. Campbell slog swept him for a six and hit him for a four down the ground in a 15-run over to bring up his fifty. At the other end, Hope picked up two fours off Sundar to bring up the 50-run stand for the third wicket. They added 79 runs in the first hour until drinks break, and carried on beyond it too all the way until stumps. Along the way, they added the highest partnership for any wicket for West Indies in seven Tests in 2025. Gill turned to his spearhead Bumrah after the drinks break but to no avail as batting got easier and the two batters dug in. Towards the end, Hope reached his fifty too while Campbell finished unbeaten on 87 - his highest Test score. This defiant partnership dwarfed West Indies' deficit to just 97 runs by the end of the day's play.

Brief Scores: West Indies 248 (Alick Athinaze 41, Shai Hope 36, Tagnarine Chanderpaul 34 ) & 173/2 (f/o) (John Campbell 87*, Shai Hope 66*) trail India 518/5 decl. (Yashasvi Jaiswal 175, Shubman Gill 129*, Sai Sudharsan 87; Jomel Warrican 3-98) by 97 runs