Chase’s approach today was very good: Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble has resonated the Indian skipper’s views on the drawn Test at Kingston stating that a combination of factors came in the way of the Indians attempting to force a result in the second Test at Kingston, Jamaica.

The Indians were in the ascendency and were in charge to claim yet another innings win. However, rain intervened on Day 3 and Day 4 as the Windies needed to bat through just the fifth day to save the match.

Speaking in the post-match presser, Kumble stated that in spite of the rain, Roston Chase did exceedingly well to save the Test match. The 24-year old, playing in only his second Test smashed a ton as well as picked up five wickets in the match.  “Obviously, we wanted to win this Test match. Yesterday, we were in a very good position and credit to the West Indies batsmen, the way they batted,” said Kumble after the match ended in a draw.

“Yesterday, time was very crucial for us because we were in great momentum and the conditions were such that it could have been different if we had probably bowled more. There was a loss of play, more than 100 overs were lost in this Test match. So all those factors mattered. In the end, credit to the West Indian batsmen in terms of how they batted today and their application as well,” he added.

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The former Indian captain said, ”It is creditable for someone playing in his second Test match, to be able to bat through the day and save the game for his team. Chase’s approach today was very good. He looked to attack when needed to and blocked literally every ball. So he kept our bowlers at bay, which was obviously disappointing from the outside.

Speaking about the West Indies batsmen, Kumble said that they had applied themselves very well. “I think all their batsmen, right from Jermaine Blackwood, Jason Holder, and Shane Dowrich, all of them applied themselves. It’s something that we also have to sit down and analyze as to how we’re going to get the last five wickets because in this series they have certainly contributed,” he added.

“You can’t really look at the forecast and take decisions,” said the coach.

“If you looked at the forecast on day three, it was supposed to rain the whole day, and even on day four, it was supposed to rain. So you can’t really look at the forecast and decide what you need to do. Yes, you strategize slightly differently.”

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“Having said that, we wanted to bat once because we didn’t want to declare with just a lead of 160 runs and then bat again on the fifth day. I thought we played really good cricket and we were dominant right throughout. Today the change in momentum happened and credit to the West Indies’ batsmen.”

“From the position, we were in, we should have probably wrapped up the Test match, but having said that this is certainly something that happens in a Test match. Sometimes the opposition puts up a brave challenge and that’s exactly what happened,” he added.

“The plan was always to take wickets. Initially, since we had 300 runs on the board, we were attacking and they came hard at us as well, and they got away in the five or six overs. They got a lot of runs.

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“And once that period happened, I believe the ball went a bit soft as well. So it was quite difficult to get the purchase that we were getting yesterday and the conditions were different as well.”

“It was cloudy, there was some rain about and there was a lot more swing yesterday. So in that sense, we could have probably adapted better. Having said that, though, the West Indies’ batsmen really applied themselves, so it was quite hard for our bowlers and this was certainly a learning spell. I’m sure on the next opportunity, whenever that is, the bowlers will be probably come up with a different approach, in terms of the challenge,” Kumble signed off.