Windies Secure 2-1 Series Victory
Wed, May 22, '02
West Indies began the fourth day at 165/7, knowing that another
25 runs would give them a lead of over 400, which would all but put
the match beyond the reach of India.
Chanderpaul was out almost immediately after resumption, caught by
Zaheer Khan off his own bowling. He had come in to bat when the
score was 60/4, with only Lara, among the recognised batsmen left.
Lara was dismissed when the score was 81, and the score moved to
170 when Chanderpaul was out, which meant Chanderpaul added nearly
90 runs with Jacobs and the tail. His partnership with Collins had
added 48 critical runs.
In the context of this, the deciding match of the series,
Chanderpaul's grit and ability to bat under pressure ensured that
West Indies would set India a target of over 400 in the last
innings, as opposed to a much more achievable target in the region
of 300.
Collins, as the senior partner after Chanderpaul, then got some
welcome runs. Surely a relief to him, after the many refused
singles during his partnership with Chanderpaul. He was aided by
some loose bowling and fielding by India. The West Indian innings
ended at 197, a further 27 runs being added after the dismissal of
Chanderpaul.
For India, Zaheer Khan took 4/79, the wickets being Sarwan, Lara,
Hooper and Chanderpaul. Just reward for some incisive bowling.
Harbhajan ended with three wickets, which took his match tally to
an impressive eight wickets in the match. Harbhajan's performance
showed that a wicket that had bounce in it aided not only the fast
bowler, but also a spinner. Such wickets also allow the batsman to
play his shots, since the ball comes onto the bat nicely, and make
for good cricket overall.
India began their innings needing 408 for an improbable test
victory. Yet, a lineup that boasted Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and
Ganguly was impossible to write off.
The tension of batting with Chanderpaul in an attempt to put enough
runs on the board in the second innings did seem to have affected
the West Indian fast bowlers. West Indies began proceedings with
Dillon and Cuffy. Dillon did not quite show the pace that he did in
the first innings, though he did bowl with good length and
direction. Das had the better of the early exchanges, with two
straight driven boundaries off Dillon.
Collins was introduced very early into the attack. His long stint
at the crease did not seem to have affected him, as he struck a
lovely rhythm from the very beginning.
Experience has shown that when any team bats in the face of a large
total, the pressure often causes the fall of wickets at regular
intervals. An unlikely catch, a run out or two or even a dodgy
umpiring decision are all part of the landscape when a large target
is being chased.
This run chase by India was no different.
With the Indian score on 19, Jaffer flicked a delivery hard off his
pads. He may have expected to get a couple of runs for his shot, if
not a boundary. Instead, the ball went straight to Wavell Hinds at
short-leg. Credit must be given to Hinds for taking a brilliant
reflex catch, but it was an unlucky dismissal all the same.
Das was the next to go, with only six runs being added to the
total. This was another item from the menu that is on offer when
sides chase a large target, a bad umpiring decision. A straight
delivery from Collins, that was well pitched up, hit Das on the pad
as he played back, and slightly across the line. The delivery would
certainly have hit the stumps, and Das was completely beaten by the
pace. What made it a bad decision was the fact that the delivery
pitched outside the leg stump.
The two best Indian batsmen Tendulkar and Dravid were now together.
If India was to have any chance of getting near the number of runs
needed for a victory, this pair, especially Tendulkar, had to make
a huge contribution.
Tendulkar looked in good nick, though he did have one or two
anxious moments early in his innings. He does seem to have a little
trouble with the angle from Collins. Not all his problems can be
attributed to his own marginal form. This was soon forgotten as he
settled in and started playing with his usual fluency.
Dravid hit a couple of beautiful cover drives, and looked the ideal
foil to Tendulkar. He was not to last, however, as Adam Sanford
bowled a delivery that nipped in late. Dravid did not come forward,
and played across the line of the ball. He was struck a little high
on the pad, but the ball was not rising, and since he was right on
his crease, it would certainly have hit the stumps. He was out for
30, and India was now 77/3.
Sanford bowled with very good direction in this innings, and gave
some anxious moments to both Tendulkar and Dravid. He looks a far
more impressive bowler when he bowls right in the off stump
corridor, and at the right length.
Tendulkar, in the company of his captain Ganguly, was beginning to
play some scintillating shots. Many of his square cuts were played
with great power, and his drives were precise as usual. The
interesting thing about Tendulkar is that he is a strokeplayer,
with the eye and reflexes to match the best of them. In addition,
he also has the technique and run-hunger of an accumulator.
The post lunch session saw Tendulkar in prime form. A cover drive
on one knee, followed by a pull that rocketed to the midwicket
fence, both off Dillon, lit up Sabina Park as he raced to his
fifty. Ganguly too, played his share of shots, especially square on
the offside. Even with the weight of runs being on the side of the
West Indies, the mastery of Tendulkar's batsmanship ensured that
the session went the way of India.
Play started after tea with Tendulkar on 82 and the Indian total on
166/3. Tendulkar sent the first ball after tea, bowled by Pedro
Collins, to the third man boundary off a late cut.
The last ball of the over saw Collins bring the ball in late at
good pace, and at an immaculate length. Tendulkar did not come
forward, and did not get completely behind the line either. The
ball went through his defense and hit the stumps. Sabina Park
erupted as Collins celebrated. It was an excellent delivery, though
Tendulkar's reaction suggested that he expected the ball to bounce
a little more. One got the impression that Tendulkar was a little
surprised that the ball moved in, since Collins rarely bowls the
delivery that comes back in to the right hander.
With that dismissal, the Indian run chase was effectively over.
There was a theoretical possibility that the last pair of batsmen,
Laxman and Ganguly would still put together a large partnership.
Only the most optimistic would have hoped for this to happen,
though.
Ganguly decided to take the initiative after Tendulkar's departure.
He dispatched a delivery from Sanford to the cover boundary off the
backfoot. After he played this shot, there seemed to be an exchange
of words between Ganguly and Sanford. One cannot be sure whether
this affected Ganguly's concentration, but shortly after the
altercation, Ganguly decided to hook a short delivery from Sanford.
As is often the case with Sanford, the ball was slightly quicker
than expected, and Ganguly hit the ball straight to the fielder at
square leg, Ramnaresh Sarwan. The reaction of Sanford, Sarwan and
Hooper after the dismissal suggested that the bouncer was expected
to yield exactly that response, with the fielder placed there in
anticipation.
Sanford continued to bowl with good pace and aggression to the next
pair, Laxman and Ratra, though Laxman played a couple of beautiful
pulls to the midwicket fence. Sanford, in the meanwhile, beat Ratra
for pace, and got the ball to fly off his bat even as the batsman
was withdrawing from the shot. The ball flew straight to Hooper,
who dropped the simplest of slip catches. Sanford was denied a four
wicket haul, and the look on Hooper's face after the catch went
down said it all.
Laxman looked in good nick. He was playing the pull shot well, but
if the objective was for him to play a long innings, the overuse of
the pull was not going to help. With the score at 209/5, and with
his own score at 23, the inevitable happened. Sanford bowled a
short delivery to which Laxman responded with a hook. The ball hit
the bat rather high and the ball flew towards midwicket. Dillon ran
backwards, kept his eyes on the ball, and tumbled backwards as he
took an excellent catch.
The Indian challenge was effectively over with Laxman's dismissal.
Harbhajan played his usual hook shot, but Hooper opted to bring
Gayle and Sarwan since the light was fading. Gayle's offspin was
rewarded with a wicket as Harbhajan played out five deliveries
patiently, but lofted the sixth one to midon. Cuffy, running to his
left took a very good catch.
The fourth day concluded with India on 237/7.
The West Indies needed to wrap things up quickly on the fifth day.
The new ball was taken by Dillon and Cuffy, and both were rewarded
with wickets. Cuffy removed Ratra, leg before and Srinath, bowled.
Dillon took his sole wicket in the second innings as he dismissed
Khan. Pedro Collins, in an interesting coincidence, took the catch,
as he did when the last wicket fell in Barbados.
The West Indies won the test by 155 runs, a comfortable margin.
This victory should give tremendous confidence to Hooper as captain
and to the team. Wavell Hinds was adjudged the 'Man of the Match',
though one would have thought that Chanderpaul would be a more apt
choice, first for taking West Indies from 264/4 to 411/8 in the
first innings, and then for his second innings partnerships, which
took the score from 60/4 to 170/8. Rather predictably, Chanderpaul
was the 'Man of the Series'.
There were numerous gains from the series, Wavell Hinds forced his
way back into the team and made runs both in Antigua and in
Jamaica. Chanderpaul returned from injury and had an unbelievable
series. Sarwan looks well settled in his position in the top order
and Jacobs proved that he still has some cricket left in him.
Dillon and Cuffy have taken up the mantle of leading the attack,
Collins vindicated the faith of the selectors, and proved many of
his detractors wrong with his bowling, especially in this last
test. Sanford is still a little raw, but is a very good find and
has done well for a player playing his first season of first class
cricket.
There is still some way to go before the Windies can start
challenging the top sides in international cricket, but the
overriding feeling at the end of this series is that the worst is
over.
* Venky Maly is a special correspondent for
CaribbeanCricket.com. His daily match reports and analysis will be
appearing throughout the remainder of the series.
