2nd Test: Reifer admits tough day for West Indies, praises Jaiswal’s composed century

New Delhi, Oct 10 West Indies assistant coach Floyd Reifer acknowledged that his team faced a challenging first day of the second and final Test against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Meanwhile, Reifer, a former West Indies captain, commended Yashasvi Jaiswal for scoring an unbeaten 173, which helped the hosts reach 318/2 at stumps.

On a typical slow Kotla pitch, the West Indies bowled with discipline in patches, conceding no extras all day and maintaining an excellent over rate. But that wasn’t enough for any bowler other than spinner Jomel Warrican to be among the wicket-takers in 90 overs on Day 1. With India firmly in control, the West Indies will need a disciplined effort on day two to fight their way back into the contest.

“Indeed, a difficult day. Obviously, if you come to India, you need luck in the games. Today was a tough day at the office for everyone. I thought that Jaiswal batted well. Obviously, he managed to be not out, so he played really well. But for games like that, where you come to India and you need to pick wickets, it's the opportunity for our bowlers.”

“They gain the ability to really learn how to bowl in their lane for longer periods of time. I thought the guys were hanging in there pretty well today, but Jaiswal played very nicely. We do have an opportunity tomorrow to come back and get some wickets with the new ball,” said Reifer in the post-day press conference on Friday.

India dominated all three sessions, with Jaiswal anchoring the innings and B Sai Sudharsan scoring a composed 87. “I thought he played a good innings. Actually, he batted out there the whole day, which was a big plus. But against our bowling, he played very good shots.”

“The pitch was very good today. It's kind of different from the last pitch we played on days one and two. I think this pitch is a bit flatter and much better for batting. But all in all, I thought he played a very good innings today,” added Reifer on Jaiswal.

Warrican produced two scalps with contrasting outcomes – one which caused KL Rahul to be spun nearly eight degrees away from him, and another that sharply brought Sudharsan back in.

“One or two balls were there, and actually, we were not expecting a lot of spin on the pitch. But probably later in day three or so, the pitch will probably turn a bit more. But yes, we need to produce a bit more wicket-taking deliveries, that's true."

"But obviously, on a good pitch like that, bowling a bit faster is very challenging in terms of putting together deliveries and being consistent. But he bowled wel,l and so we got to make sure that all lines and lengths are immaculate at all times and try to be as consistent as possible. That's all we can do until the game is over,” stated Reifer.

In the absence of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales had to step up as the fast-bowling spearhead, and Reifer explained how the youngster can learn from his first Test tour of India for future growth.

“This is Jayden’s first time playing Tests in India, and I thought he bowled well in the game. He bowled very good lines and lengths. Obviously, losing Alzarri and Shamar is a big miss for us in terms of the synergy of the bowling attack.”

“But I'm sure that he'll learn a lot playing in India. Obviously, he's got to bowl on flatter wickets. The priority is to be as consistent as possible in terms of lines and lengths,” he concluded.

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