'Finally, Some Fire'

One day after writing off the West Indies as a mediocre team left for dead, former Indian batting mainstay Sanjay Manjrekar believes the SG ball used in the series has given sudden life to the visiting pace bowlers.

In a column for Wisden Online (paid subscription required), Manjrekar said it was a welcome change to finally to see some inspired performances from the West Indians.

"After the batsmen gave another shocking display yesterday, the bowlers did enough today to keep things interesting. They were helped in that regard by the SG ball used in this series. The nature of the surfaces we've seen so far has been to aid turn and bounce, encouraging both spinners and quick bowlers," he said.

"But it's the ball, with its very prominent seam, that is the bowlers' best friend. For the spinners, any over-spin is exaggerated, and the seamers find it much easier to grip, and easier to move off the pitch. After the 30th over today, Mervyn Dillon and Jermaine Lawson got some pronounced lateral movement, though they deserve credit for making the most of conditions that had altered slightly as a result of overnight rain," Manjrekar added.

Manjrekah, a mainstay of India's batting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, believes the negative approach by the home batsmen gave the West Indians a tinge of hope going to bed after the second day's play.

"West Indies will to bed tonight ? for the first time in the series ? with faint hope in their hearts. If they can run through the Indian tail early tomorrow, with the help of the second new ball, it could set up an intriguing finish. Chasing a target in the fourth innings here won't be a picnic."