India Down But Not Out...

Tue, May 21, '02

by VENKY MALY

A day of fluctuating fortunes saw the final test at Sabina Park poised perfectly at close on the third day today. As things stand, West Indies do hold the edge, but India have come back into the game to a remarkable extent.

The day began with India on 141/4, with Ganguly and Laxman at the crease. West Indies still led by 281, and needed only to dismiss these two batsmen before they could get at the Indian lower order.

The Indian batsmen began the day positively, with Ganguly finding the boundary more than once on the offside to well timed shots. Laxman at the other end, was his usual languid self, and played several well timed drives that masqueraded as pushes as they raced along the turf. The fun and games, however, were not to last too long. Since so many of his attacking shots had connected and were getting him runs, Ganguly got over-ambitious and played at a delivery from Dillon that was leaving him. The result was a straightforward catch to Jacobs, to leave India at 168/5.

Ratra came in to replace Ganguly, and only the most optimistic of Indian supporters would have expected him to achieve anything like his feat in Antigua. This pitch, even on the third day had plenty of bounce in it, and this was a different game altogether, and not just in the literal sense of the term.

Dillon had struck a very good rhythm now, and bowled a very well directed short delivery to Ratra, who fended it straight to Hinds at forward shortleg.

Harbhajan came out to replace Ratra. Apparently upset over claims that his shoulder had not completely healed from a recent injury, Harbhajan promised to prove a point to his critics, with the ball and, a little surprisingly, with the bat as well. In this innings, this was not to be, as Dillon bowled another snorter that was fended. This time, Hinds took the catch diving full length to his right.

Laxman looked unhurried at most times, to the point of seeming casual. However, he was running out of support rather quickly. Pedro Collins, who had returned to the attack, came around the wicket, and as he did at Barbados, troubled Laxman with late away movement. One wonders why Collins took this long to come around the wicket to Laxman, both in this test as well as during Laxman's long innings in Antigua.

As Collins beat Laxman outside the off stump, Laxman tried to hit him out of the attack, and had two near misses, Sanford being the fielder on both occasions.

In a piece of strokeplay matched later in the day by the senior West Indian fast bowler, Zaheer Khan lashed out at Cuffy and Lara held the swirling high catch at cover. One saw Laxman have a word with Zaheer a short time before he played this shot. One can presume with some confidence, that Laxman's instructions were not to try and hit the ball into the stands behind the sightscreen.

In this innings, a distinguishing feature of the West Indian fast bowling was the way in which they used the short delivery against the tailenders. Srinath was the next to come into the firing line. Collins bowled two sharp bouncers to him, and followed it with a delivery moving away from the right hander. Srinath, whose backfoot was moving towards square leg in anticipation of another short delivery could only edge it to Gayle at slip.

Nehra, the Indian number eleven, gave Laxman some useful support although he was a little slow in responding to many of Laxman's calls for singles. However he held on while Laxman took the score from 197/9 to the eventual 212 before he was run out by a direct hit from Sarwan.

The Indian innings ended ten runs short of their follow-on target, and as expected, Hooper did not elect to enforce the follow-on. The logic behind this decision would have been to avoid batting last, and also to give his bowlers some rest before bowling to the Indian batsmen in the second innings.

For the West Indies, Mervyn Dillon was the destroyer in chief, with five wickets for 71. It was Dillon's first five wicket haul since he took 5/111 against Pakistan in 1997. He now has 98 wickets in this, his 26th test and seems to be coming into his own as a fast bowler. It is very interesting to compare Dillon's figures with that of Harbhajan Singh, who took his 100th wicket in this, his 25th test. Intriguingly, both men, though very different bowlers, share somewhat similar strike rates and averages. It is a measure of the high expectations placed on the West Indies spearhead that while the Indian spinner's career is considered a success story. Most West Indian supporters see Dillon as only just living up to their expectations. The second innings of this test presents a great opportunity for Dillon to claim his 100th wicket, and to play an even more decisive role in this game.

The West Indies came out to bat 210 ahead, and with seemingly all their batsmen in form. It was only fitting then that Chris Gayle chose to greet Srinath with a thunderous boundary to mid-off, and followed it up with an ondrive for four. Hinds joined the party with a boundary off his pads, and the West Indies seemed to be doing just what was expected of them, score about 200 to 250 and declare, leaving the Indians two days to get a near impossible target.

Srinath, in the meantime, had struck a very good length and was bowling as the Indians would have wanted him to bowl in the first innings. A delivery that moved out late found the edge of Hinds' bat, and he was easily taken by Laxman in the slips.

Sarwan made a positive start, and Gayle continued to attack. Srinath persisted with a very fine line just outside the offstump, and Gayle got dismissed in trademark fashion, caught at gully. If the West Indian public has come to expect thunderous drives from Gayle's bat, the opposition has not been disappointed with his ability to hit the ball straight to gully either. Gayle had a great opportunity here to get a sizeable score in front of his home crowd, and did not take advantage. He now has only five scores over fifty in his last 27 innings, and has to work at not playing the ball in the air in the gully area if he is to live up to his undoubted promise.

Lara came in to replace Gayle. The great man was not at his best, but managed to show glimpses of his form. Two off drives singed the grass as they raced to the fence, and another shot, a pull off the front foot, was quite simply the shot of the match so far.

Even with two wickets down at this stage for about 30, it did not seem as if the West Indies were under any real pressure. The instructions from the dressing room must have surely been to keep the scoreboard moving, in order to set a India target with enough time remaining to bowl them out in the second innings.

In this spirit, Sarwan reached out to a delivery outside the off stump, and played a drive on the rise. It was hit in the air, and Das at cover made up for his many lapses in the field with a very well taken low catch. If Gayle has the tendency to play the ball uppishly towards gully, Sarwan's weakness is to start playing the ball on the rise without getting to the pitch. More than a few times in this series, this shot has been his downfall.

Sarwan was Zaheer Khan's first wicket, and by now, Zaheer was beginning to bowl with pace and direction, with the pitch also responding when he strove for lift. Hooper received an unplayable delivery that he edged over the slips. Shortly after, Hooper played at a delivery that was wide of offstump and edged it to the keeper, to end with two failures in this test. A rather tame end to what has been the most successful series of his career so far.

The score now 60/4 and the threat of a total West Indian collapse was now very real. It took all of Chanderpaul's cool, collected style of batting to make things appear under control. Lara was now in his thirties, but still was not moving his feet as he would when in prime form, but it looked as if he would play a pivotal role here.

That was not to be, as Zaheer bowled Lara with an incoming delivery that crashed into the stumps off the inside edge. Lara did not move his feet at all, and played the delivery away from his body, leaving a huge gap between bat and body. With only two scores over fifty in this series, Lara must wonder if he should not have rested and let his arm heal further instead of playing this series.

Jacobs joined Chanderpaul with the West Indian position now precarious, at 81/5.

After only seven runs were added to the score, Jacobs was the beneficiary of a dropped catch when he slashed hard at Zaheer, and saw Dravid grass a regulation slip catch. This game is not over yet, but should India fail to make a fourth innings target here, many will wonder if this catch was not the missed chance that put them out of the game.

The score would have been 88/6 if the chance had been taken, but Jacobs batted with his customary aplomb, and with Chanderpaul, took the score to 117 before he edged Harbhajan Singh to forward short leg.

Dillon played one authentic shot for four before he decided that he could outdo Zaheer Khan in shot selection. A wild swipe at a straight delivery saw his stumps rattled. If Dillon ever had any chances of being offered a position as batting coach somewhere, this shot may have seriously impaired them. But he will have a chance to compensate with the ball when the West Indies bowl in the last innings.

Pedro Collins joined Hooper with the score on 122/7, and there was a very real danger of the West Indies ending their innings within a few runs, thus setting India a target of about 340 or so.

Chanderpaul then showed why he is such an invaluable member of the team. His career batting average against India is a Bradmanesque 100.33, and he proceeded to put together a very useful innings.

Inspite of an altercation with Harbhajan, he farmed the strike with Collins and calmly collected his runs, ultimately reaching a half century. The ovation from the dressing room and from the crowd confirmed the fact that this half-century is worth more than most centuries. Regardless of what happens in the remainder of this match, it is hard to see someone other than Shivnarine Chanderpaul being chosen as 'Player of the Series'.

Pedro Collins, who usually had strike only off the fourth or fifth delivery of each over, tried hard to get a single whenever he managed to play the ball into the gaps. His eagerness to avoid making his ninth duck in eighteen test innings can be imagined. However, he was on zero for 24 deliveries before he finally opened his account.

With his limited batting ability, Collins was in trouble against both pace and spin, but showed tremendous courage and willpower in supporting Chanderpaul. It is often said that a team's fighting spirit can be judged by the resistance put up by the tailenders when the team needs runs. If this is the measure, then this is definitely a resurgent West Indian team.

The day ended with Chanderpaul and Collins still together, and with the score at 165/7, which made the lead already 375. The West Indian objective will be to take that lead over the 400 mark, which will mean that India will have to put together one of the best ever batting performances in the fourth innings, if they want to take this match and series.

The only factor that could be in favour of the Indians is a psychological one. After conceding a first innings lead of 210, they seemed to have given up hope to the extent that when the first two West Indian wickets fell cheaply, there was hardly a reaction from the Indian fielders. However, with the West Indian collapse, India may have begun to believe that they still have a chance in this game.

Cricket is a game of uncertainties, but cricket is also a game where the mental aspect is crucial. It will be up to the West Indies to ensure that they control the flow of the rest of this test match. With the pitch still aiding the fast bowlers, and showing some signs of uneven bounce, inspite of the powerful Indian batting lineup, it is difficult to see any result other than a West Indian victory.

* Venky Maly is a special correspondent for CaribbeanCricket.com. His daily match reports and analysis will be appearing throughout the remainder of the series.