Paul Reiffel takes an entire age to decide John Campbell wicket; Indian team stunned
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Ravindra Jadeja finally handed India the much-awaited breakthrough with the dismissal of West Indies opener John Campbell; however, what shocked the Indian players was that umpire Paul Reiffel stopped for too long before being almost compelled to raise his fingers in front of the desperate appeal from the Indian players.
While Indians have dominated the West Indies throughout the series, this was the first time that the West Indies batting pair seemed to have had the upper hand over the Indian bowlers.
After having put on a follow-on by the Indians, the Windies batters John Campbell and Shai Hope stitched a massive partnership to lead the Windies to a respectable total on Day 3, and continued the same for nearly one hour of the morning session on Day 4.
Umpire Paul Reiffel leaves the Indian players stunned over the delay to declare John Campbell out
After the massive 150+ run partnership between the two West Indian batters and John Campbell, hitting his maiden Test century at Delhi, veteran spinner Ravindra Jadeja finally drew the first blood of the morning for India.
The spinner, who initiated proceedings alongside Jasprit Bumrah, bowled a flat-arm ball to Campbell that pitched on the middle stump and hit the batter's front pads plumb in front of the wickets as he attempted a reverse sweep. After being saved previously off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah by DRS, nothing could change his fate this time.
The centurion departed, but before that, in a bizarre feat, umpire Paul Reiffel thought for ages on a dismissal that looked absolutely plumb. He was almost compelled by Jadeja and the Indian players with a desperate appeal that led him to raise his fingers.
— crictalk (@crictalk7) October 13, 2025
John Campbell and Shai Hope stitched a 150+ partnership, ending an exile of 14 years
West Indies batters have clearly not had the best of records in red-ball cricket over the last decade. They have failed further when it came to playing under the subcontinent conditions, and the stats reveal it all.
Even a decade back, when the West Indian side looked enriched under the Captaincy of the current coach Darren Sammy, they had the likes of batters like Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle.
The 150+ partnership between Shai Hope and John Campbell in this match marked the first such partnership between a West Indian batting pair in India since 2011. The previous such partnership dates 14-years back to 2011, when Darren Bravo and Kieran Powell did the same at Wankhede.
John Campbell joined former West Indian greats on a list to have scored their maiden Test century at Delhi
John Campbell might have celebrated his century with utmost glory and pride; however, it exposed the poor form of the West Indies over the last two decades. John Campbell, though, took 48 innings, the second most by an opener in Test cricket, to reach his maiden Test hundred; it came in to break several unwanted records.
Campbell is the first West Indian opener with a century since March 2023, the first opener to score a century against India since Daren Ganga in 2006 and the first Windies opener since Wavell Hinds to score a century on Indian soil.
He is also the 17th batter to have reached his maiden Test hundred at Delhi, as he joined a list comprising legends like Kapil Dev and the West Indian legend Sir Vivian Richards. He is the seventh West Indies batter to have scored their first Test century in Delhi.
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India National Cricket Team John Campbell Ravindra Jadeja India vs West Indies Paul Reiffel West Indies Cricket Team ICC World Test Championship
