3 mistakes made by India in the 2nd Test vs West Indies ft. Nitish Kumar Reddy's usage

India secured a comfortable 2-0 series win over the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The hosts, who thrashed the opponents by an innings and 140 runs in Ahmedabad, had to work a little harder in the second Test. Eventually, though, they triumphed by seven wickets on the final day of the contest.

Over the course of the second Test, India made a number of questionable calls. Although they have World Test Championship points in the bag, there were certainly some tactical missteps that could've cost them on another day.

On that note, here are three mistakes made by India in the second Test against the West Indies.

#3 The timing of the declaration was off

England v India - 5th Rothesay Test Match: Day Five - Source: Getty

India declared midway through the second day, having batted only 135.2 overs. They had made a decent score of 518/5, but it was clear that there were no demons in the wicket. Ideally, the hosts should've at least looked to cross the 650-run mark before sending the opposition in.

Dhruv Jurel batted at a pedestrian tempo after coming in, indicating that India weren't going to declare. However, the team did so soon after, with Washington Sundar and the tail not getting to spend much time in the middle for the second Test running.

#2 Nitish Kumar Reddy didn't bowl a single over in the Test

England v India - 3rd Rothesay Test Match: Day One - Source: Getty

India were in the field for around 200 overs across the two innings, but Nitish Kumar Reddy wasn't given a single over. Even when the frontline bowlers weren't able to provide breakthroughs, Shubman Gill didn't turn to the pace-bowling all-rounder.

Such a decision defied logic. India need to develop Nitish into a reliable bowling option, and he hasn't done too much wrong over the course of his Test career. When asked about it in the post-match press conference, Gill didn't have anything close to a convincing reply either.

#1 India bizarrely enforced the follow-on

Asia Cup Cricket - Source: Getty

After the Windies were bowled out for 248 in their first innings, India should've batted again and given their bowlers a bit of a breather. There was no reason to enforce the follow-on, which has become an extremely rare occurrence in modern Test cricket.

The West Indies made the most of tiring bowlers and flat conditions to apply themselves in their second essay, pushing the Test into a fourth innings. Jasprit Bumrah was the fifth bowler to be introduced in that innings, indicating how muddled India's plans were because of their workload.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that India were complacent in enforcing the follow-on, a decision that jeopardized the fitness of their players ahead of an important white-ball tour of Australia.

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Edited by Sai Krishna