Have to work hard on slow turners: Jadeja

Certainly in comparison to the low yardstick of the opening Test when the West Indies batters lasted a mere 44.1 and 45.1 overs across the two innings, there was a little more application from the visitors on day two of the second Test here on Saturday.

Although the deficit is 378 runs, West Indies, which reached 140 for four at the close, will hope to chew up more overs in its first innings and thwart India’s bowlers for as long as possible. Ravindra Jadeja was India’s most successful bowler on Saturday, delivering 14 overs and prising out three scalps on a perfectly good pitch for run-scoring at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The 36-year-old left-arm spinner senses more toil ahead on day three, primarily because of the nature of the strip. “It’s not like every ball is spinning a lot. The bounce is less. You have to use your shoulder more. While bowling slow, the batters find it easy to go back and adjust. You have to keep varying your pace on this pitch. The ball isn’t spinning quickly. So there is hard work ahead,” the all-rounder assessed post the day’s play.

The surface’s attributes may not be to Jadeja’s liking as a spinner, but it is exactly in line with the team’s demands going into this series.

“I’m not surprised because we’ve asked for slow turn. We’ve not asked for rank turners. This is what we expected as the game progresses. The wicket will start turning slowly. Not on the first day. We have to bowl well through the innings. Only then we’ll be able to get them out. We’ll continue to do it and hopefully produce good results,” he said.