John Campbell paid the price for his indiscreet choice of shots but Shai Hope defended dourly to take West Indies to 252 for 3 at lunch on the fourth day of the second Test against India here on Monday.
West Indies now need to score 18 more runs before they can make India bat again but more importantly the docile nature of the track has made it a toil for the spinners.
Campbell (115 off 199 balls) and Hope (92 batting) didn't look in any sort of trouble during the first hour of play. With virtually no turn on offer, Ravindra Jadeja (1/75 in 25 overs) didn't seem half as effective as he is on tracks that turn square. Jasprit Bumrah at the other end was steady but not exactly menacing.
Campbell slogged Jadeja over cow corner bent on one knee to complete his first Test hundred in 25 appearances with only three fifty plus scores in the previous 49 knocks.
The problem with using shoulder and increasing pace on deliveries meant that there was no possibility of turn. If one tried to get flight and turn, then off the pitch it didn't even travel to the batter, who had all the time in the world to rock back and manoeuvre on either side of the wicket.
The Campbell-Hope duo had added 177 runs for the third wicket and was looking good for a few more, the only way a wicket could have come was poor shot selection from the Windies batters.
The drinks break did affect the rhythm and Jadeja operating from the Ambedkar Stadium end finally had the rub of the green going his way. Campbell needlessly went for a reverse sweep to a straight delivery pitched on leg-middle line and was adjudged leg-before.
Skipper Roston Chase (23 batting) came and lofted Washington Sundar over long-on for a six as he and Hope added another 40 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand going into the lunch.
Hope changed his stance from side-on to slightly open chested. While he had to curb a few shots, it allowed him to defend doggedly. For Washington, he would plonk his front foot outside the line of the off-stump and for Jadeja, he would drag it outside the leg-stump to smother the turn and negate chance of lbw.
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