Pitch is still good one to bat on but we need to take game to Day 5: Khary Pierre

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) The Feroz Shah Kotla track has remained mostly batting-friendly for the first three days, and West Indies off-spinner Khary Pierre is hopeful it takes time to deteriorate, giving his batters enough opportunity to take the game into day five.

West Indies were 173/2, riding on unbeaten 87 from John Campbell and 66 from Shai Hope, needing another 97 runs to avoid an innings defeat and make India bat again.

Asked when does he expect the track to deteriorate further, the left-arm spinner replied: "I think the wicket is still a good one, with the odd balls spinning a little bit.

"All in all, I think the wicket is going to deteriorate more going on into the test match, so, it's all about batting as low as possible to try and get that wear and tear, you know, to even get even worse." If West Indies can bat long enough and take a lead going into the fifth day, they might just be able to make a match out of it.

"I would say, as of now it is a good track to bat on but once we continue to bat, going on to the last session on fourth day or into the fifth day, I think it's going to deteriorate a lot, stay low and spin a little more." Pierre believes that if they can play proper cricket tomorrow, the match will still be on.

"I would say the Test match is still on. Once we bat properly, I think the game is still on and once we get a lead, we all know on fourth, fifth day of a Test match, you know, probably get some balls to spin and stuff and make a game of it." Campbell was distinctly unlucky in the first innings when his full blooded sweep on the second day thudded into Sai Sudharsan's knuckle and stayed put.

In the second innings, he has made amends and is now 13 runs short of a hundred.

Pierre was all praise for his teammates.

"The runs are no surprise as he has been working hard. He applied himself today and you can see the rewards. I think he batted really well and with a lot of energy. Hope they give us some kind of stability and something (runs) to work with.

"It's just about continuing, and the thing is, on these wickets, once you get a start, you have to score big, and that's the objective, and that's what the batting coaches, try and preach these things, once you get a start, try and catch him, you know, for the team." PTI KHS KHS TAP