India should aim for quick wickets on Day 4: Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan has said that India will have to aim for quick wickets on Day 4 of the second Test against West Indies on Sunday to push for a result in the match. 1-0 down in the two-match series, West Indies opted for a cautious approach on Day 3, scoring just 143 runs in 67 overs on a rain-hit day.

IND vs WI: Batters’ resolute yet cautious approach has West Indies’ hopes hanging in balance

Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite was the highest run-getter, scoring 75 runs off 235 balls.

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“They have been holding the West Indies to a decent total right now. Five wickets are down and it would have been lovely for India to finish the day with another wicket. But that wasn’t the case. You saw some help for the seamers. With the second new ball, Mukesh and Siraj were very good with their line and length. There was some swing on offer too,” Zaheer said on JioCinema.

“So, hope they continue with that in the first session of Day Four and wrap up this West Indies innings as quickly as possible. There are still six sessions of play left but for that they need to get West Indies all out as soon as possible.”

Zaheer feels that the match is nicely poised and added that India would look to restrict the hosts to under 300 in the first innings before going for a win.

“That should be their first target. It will give them enough runs to play around with, and with that lead they can have a positive approach and may be look at 300-350 as a target for the West Indies on the last day. That will give them a good opportunity to have a really good crack at winning this Test match.”

Meanwhile, India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey wasn’t happy with the pitch in the Port of Spain stadium. After the end of the day’s play, Mhambrey said that pitches should offer assistance to both bowlers and batters.

“The wicket should be sporting, where all departments have an opportunity – whether it’s batting or bowling. If you go to either extreme… Dominica was turning a bit and we could use that wicket better given the bowlers we had. On this wicket, it will be quite a challenge to pick 20 wickets.

“The first challenge would be to bowl them out in the first innings and then see at what stage the game is at. Then we’ll reassess what to do in the second innings. These wickets are challenging and will be a lot of hard work for the bowlers. Wickets shouldn’t be so flat,” he said in the press conference after Day 3.