Lara Sparkles but Windies Collapse Again

India stormed back to take four wickets in the final session to seize the initiative in the second Test match against West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval. When play was halted for bad light with eight overs still to be bowled, the hosts were reeling at 197 for 6, still 142 runs in arrears.

Day Two close of play scores: West Indies 197 for 6 (Lara 52, Srinath 3-56) trail India 339 all out (Tendulkar 117, Laxman 69*) by 142 runs.

Yet a little over half an hour earlier, it was all West Indies, with Brian Lara and Carl Hooper stroking the ball beautifully and the scoreboard showing a healthy 179 for 3.

Lara's dismissal, moments after he had brought up his fifty with a steer down to third man off Javagal Srinath, changed everything. There was stunned silence as he departed for 52, edging a Zaheer Khan delivery for Ajay Ratra to take a good low catch behind the stumps - his first in Tests. Trinidad's Prince walked and his disappointment - and the crowd's - was palpable. The first century on home turf would have to wait.

Then, Daryl Harper stepped in with an absolute shocker to give India the advantage on a plate. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was struck on the pad by Srinath - in front of the stumps - only the ball pitched way outside leg stump. One of the Guyana centurions trudged disconsolately back for 1, as the Indians celebrated (180 for 5).

Despair turned to double jeopardy for West Indies when Junior Murray's woeful run with the bat continued. He shuffled across to be trapped plumb in front by Srinath. The hosts were in desperate trouble and no wicketkeeper had yet made a run in this series.

The day began with a flurry of wickets as well. Cameron Cuffy struck the first blow, getting Sachin Tendulkar plumb in front for 117 (276 for 5). Tendulkar was as ungainly this morning as he was yesterday, but not nearly as effective, and had survived a close lbw shout the ball before perishing.

Cuffy, his tail up and India's in, then bowled a gem of an over to debutant wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, setting him up for the one that moved away, kissed the outside edge and landed in Murray's gloves (282 for 6). He bowled a masterful line-and-length until the drinks break, with Laxman looking elegant as ever; but he was running out of partners.

Harbhajan Singh looked utterly ill-at-ease during his short stay at the crease, and hooked Sanford straight down Cuffy's throat at square-leg in at attempt to open his account with a bang (287 for 7). Whimper.

Zaheer Khan followed shortly afterwards, bowled for 5 by a well-pitched up delivery that hit his back-pad on the way to knocking off middle stump. Srinath played with a certain amount of determination and an equal amount of luck, edging thrice to third man for four. His 18, part of a 41-run partnership with Laxman, could prove invaluable for India. He was lbw to Marlon Black shortly after lunch (339 for 9), and Nehra followed three balls later without troubling the scorers, nicking Black to Hooper at second slip.

After taking a couple of overs to find their bearings, Stuart Williams and Chris Gayle got West Indies off to a rollicking start, aided and abetted by some woeful bowling. Williams got going with a streaky edge down to third man off Srinath, but there was no element of luck about the three boundaries he struck in Srinath's fourth over - - a cover-drive, a guide down to third man and a deft nudge past point - or the flowing drive through cover when Nehra gave him width.

Chris Gayle was more circumspect, but he showed signs of positive intent with flicks to fine leg off Srinath and another backward of square off Nehra. When Zaheer came on to bowl, Gayle punched him off the back foot through cover for four. With Williams steering another wide ball from Nehra down to third man, India's total was looking smaller by the minute.

That was until Srinath - shifted by Sourav Ganguly from the Pavilion End to the Media Centre End - struck to send back Gayle for 13, caught off the leading edge by Das at short cover. Gayle played inside the line and Ganguly's decision to place Das close to the bat was vindicated when the ball looped up to his right (50 for 1).

Harbhajan then snared the dangerous Stuart Williams off the last ball before tea to put the brakes on the West Indies after they stormed out of the blocks. Williams smashed eight fours in his 43, but his attempted flick to Harbhajan went off bat and pad to SS Das at forward short leg (80 for 2).

Lara and Sarwan had added 56 runs at a fair clip, as both teams played a game of cat-and-mouse after tea. India attacked with Srinath and Harbhajan, and Sarwan and Lara battled to keep them at bay. It was engrossing fare, especially the tussle between Harbhajan and Lara. In one over, Lara started with an exquistive extra-cover drive before Harbhajan came back with the vociferous appeal for leg before that was turned down. But West Indies appeared to have the upper hand, until a careless shot from Ramnaresh Sarwan gave India the breakthrough they desperately needed.

After having driven Nehra straight as a die down the ground earlier in the over, Sarwan chased a wide one and got a thick outside edge that was well taken by Rahul Dravid at first slip (136 for 3). Sarwan made 35 useful runs and looked good for many more.

Lara's fifty was a mixture of fluency and luck. He survived two confident appeals for leg before - both appeared plumb and Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra had plenty of reason to complain - but also played some glorious strokes square of the wicket.

Hooper batted with the mastery that he showed in Guyana, finishing the day on 30 not out, two superb straight-drives and a crashing back-foot square-drive off Zaheer for fours ample evidence that his appetite for runs was undiminished. He has his work cut out though to shepherd this tail, for whom runs are mysterious, unknown objects.

* Wisden Online.