'India could have applied a bit more pressure through field placements to force mistakes.'
Spin great Anil Kumble reflected on India's bowling effort on a docile pitch on Day 4 of the second Test against West Indies in Delhi on Monday, suggesting that the hosts could have done more to maintain pressure on the West Indian batters.
"The pitch was really docile. One thing India could have done better was to put a little more pressure on the batters. But credit to the West Indian batters as well," Kumble told JioHotstar.
"I know we are looking at it from an Indian bowling perspective, but I thought the West Indies batters really applied themselves."
After being bowled out for 248 in the first innings and after conceding a 270-run first innings lead, West Indies mounted a strong fightback as they posted a healthy 390 in their second innings.
Opener John Campbell struck a determined 115, while Shai Hope scored a fluent 103 as West Indies bounced back from a position of no hope.
Towards the end, Justin Greaves and Jayden Seales stitched together a crucial 79-run stand for the final wicket, the first fifty-plus tenth-wicket partnership by a visiting team in India since 2017, to set India a target of 121. At stumps on Day 4, India are 63/1, needing another 58 runs to complete a 2-0 series sweep.
Kumble revealed that he had spoken with West Indies head coach Darren Sammy about the team's batting intent and praised the visitors for showing greater resilience in the second innings.
"I had a brief chat with Darren Sammy yesterday morning, and the first thing he said was, 'I wish our batters could apply themselves more.' They have now shown the coach that they can do it. We saw that yesterday and again today," he added.
The former India coach also lauded the West Indies tail for frustrating the home side with a record tenth-wicket stand.
"Even the tail-enders applied themselves really well. I thought the No. 10 and No. 11 batted brilliantly to frustrate the Indian bowlers. Maybe, India could have applied a bit more pressure through field placements to force mistakes," he said.
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