Windies Crush India to Level Series

The West Indies earned a crucial victory over India shortly after lunch on the fourth day to level the five-match series between the two sides at 1-1 with two Tests to play.

An entertaining stand of 74 for the eighth wicket between Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan meant the West Indies were at least required to bat a second time.

But needing just five runs to win, Stuart Williams and Chris Gayle were able to complete the victory in simple fashion.

India even resorted to using Sachin Tendulkar as an opening bowler.

Although Pedro Collins claimed the prize wicket of VVS Laxman early on the fourth morning, the West Indies were not able to wrap up the tail in their usual efficient style.

Zaheer was out just before lunch for a Test-best 46 off 45 balls.

He often played and missed and narrowly avoided the slips with a series of sliced drives - but kept the Caribbean team waiting for victory by smashing two sixes off Adam Sanford.

At the start of the day, left-armer Collins was the only ball to extract much movement from the track, and Laxman was flat-footed when tamely steering a defensive shot low to Carl Hooper in the slips.

At that point, India were 183 for five, still more than 100 runs away from making the West Indies bat again.

Ganguly continued along untroubled, but he lost the edgy Ajay Ratra when Merv Dillon, bowling from wide of the crease, won an lbw decision to see him off for 13.

Next man in Harbhajan Singh was not prepared to bide his time and soon dragged the economical Cameron Cuffy into his own stumps.

Zaheer, the left-arm seamer who bats right handed, never looked like playing a long innings, but the West Indies would have started to feel uncomfortable while he was at the crease.

Then Hooper turned to occasional spin bowler Ramnaresh Sarwan the over before lunch. His first ball kept low, Zaheer went for a cut shot, missed, and Ridley Jacobs took a smart catch.

The players came back after the interval, and Javagal Srinath immediately fell to a slip catch trying to drive Sarwan.

Finally, Ganguly was left stranded on 60 not out as Ashish Nehra was comically caught at the third attempt by Collins in the deep.

The wicket gave Dillon his fourth wicket of the innings, and eighth of the match.

* SOURCE: BBC Sports Online.