NEW DELHI: Shai Hope and John Campbell have happy memories of batting together. In an ODI against Ireland, the pair put on 365 runs for the first wicket in 2019. It remains the second highest stand in the history of the format. Since that august day in May six years ago, they have been waiting for a collective moment like that under the sun. Late on Sunday evening in front of a small but energetic crowd, they put on an unbroken stand of 138 runs in 34.3 overs to drag the second Test into a fourth day.
When India asked the visitors to follow on, they would have had designs on an early finish and, potentially, spending a few days at home before flying to Australia for a multi-format series. Now? Shubman Gill and Co. have been in the field for over 125 overs and may even be forced to steal a glance at the scoreboard if Hope and Campbell continue to mix caution with aggression deep into the first session on Monday.
The hosts are still in a commanding position as they lead by 97 runs but on a pitch where not a lot is happening, Hope and Campbell will have designs on carrying on.
In the pre-match press conference, the West Indian think-tank challenged their batters to rise to the occasion and show some hunger and that's exactly what the pair did. "They have applied themselves very well," said offspinner Khary Pierre after the day's play. "We are in this game."
Nobody had that feeling four hours into the third day when they were 2/35. Washington Sundar had just breached through the defences of Alick Athanaze and tea was taken. Post tea, Hope and Campbell dealt with the turn in their own way.
Campbell is an impulsive sweeper but he's also somebody whose hands are low, one of the key recipes to make that shot work in the sub-continent. With the bounce predictable and the turn slow, it's perhaps one of the safer attacking shots. And he married intent with execution to maximum effect.
Out of his 87, 29 came against Kuldeep Yadav, including one powerful sweep just behind square for six. He was more severe against Ravindra Jadeja, as he made 33 off 46 against the fingerspinner. It included one six over long on. There were also three boundaries on either side of square off Sundar. In all, he scored 65 runs on the leg side off the spinners, perhaps suggesting that they were a bit too straight to him. The plan, though, was to target the pads. There could be a correction on Monday.
In the process, Campbell, who had to serve a dope-related 22 month ban for refusing to provide a sample in 2022, also brought up his highest Test score. If his sweeping prowess as well as proactive play forced the Indians to remove multiple close-in catchers, Hope also found a way through the white noise.
If Campbell is a fresh returnee to Test cricket, Hope is, at some level, also a returnee to Test cricket. This is 43rd but only fourth since coming back to international red-ball cricket in June 2025 after missing the last three-and-a-half years worth of Tests. He wasn't really looking forward to it when he came back but wanted to give it a go now that he was back.
One of the first things he wanted to address was to get past 50, something he hadn't done in over 30 innings; the last time he hit 50 before Sunday, it was January 2019.
His moment in the sun as the shadows started to make their presence felt. But this wasn't just about the milestone but also in the way he controlled his innings. The 31-year-old has an average of over 50 in ODIs and he showed why that's the case as he was very busy, especially when there were runs to be had on the off-side. He has a very strong game on either side of square on both sides of the wicket and he put that to use. He was especially severe on the off side, as he cut and drove both seamers and spin. He also went downtown against the slower bowlers.
The duo's unbeaten partnership is the first time the side has managed an alliance of over a 100 in this format in over 15 months. It helped them win the final session on Sunday. If they can win the session on Monday morning, they can start to threaten India's advantage.
