Even Stevens

Eden Gardens in Calcutta is the venue of the third test, and at the end of day one, the West Indies must feel that they are well in contention, although the cliched glorious uncertainties of the game and their own frailities have seen them slip often from such a position in the recent past.

Pedro Collins was ruled out of this game through injury, and the West Indies opted to play all the other quicker bowlers at their disposal, thus leaving Nagamootoo and Breese out of the side. The Indian batsmen, if nobody else, would certainly have regretted the omission of the two spinners.

Among the batsmen, after all his travails against the turning ball, Ryan Hinds was given a well deserved rest and Marlon Samuels was included, inspite of his lackluster batting in the warmup game that preceded this test match.

Although this series has been decided, this test is of some importance to West Indian supporters. Firstly, though the West Indies were well beaten in the previous test in Chennai, they were definitely not completely outplayed, as they were in the first test. Had their fielding been test class in the Indian first innings, they could well have come here to Calcutta with the series tied at 1-1. Secondly, the West Indian batting, playing with new-found spirit, seemed to have found some, if not all the answers to the questions posed by the Indian spinners. Thirdly, and most importantly, with Darren Powell and Jermaine Lawson both in the team, the West Indians had the opportunity to play two bowlers of genuine pace, after many a year.

India won the toss and decided to bat on a pitch that promises to wear much better than the ones in the first two tests. Sehwag and Bangar opened the innings as usual. Rather surprisingly, Cuffy was given the new ball ahead of both Lawson and Powell, and he lived up to expectations with an accurate and unpenetrative first spell.

Sehwag started in customary fashion, flaying at anything outside off stump, and playing well timed drives, even if with no footwork, to deliveries pitched up and on the stumps. He prospered for a while, with the usual mixture of exceptional and ordinary shots, both of which often sped to the fence. With his score on 36, Dillon made one cut back sharply at him and Sehwag's non-existent footwork saw him trapped plumb in front.

Sehwag is definitely an exciting player, but the West Indies must wonder how they have failed to sort out an opening batsman with such ordinary technique. On pitches where there is more for the bowler, Sehwag is going to have a hard time replicating the success he has had on these flat tracks. He has scored numerous runs with shots away from his body, playing the ball in the air through the gully area. Which would be a questionable tactic against a better fielding team than the current West Indies team, which would struggle to catch a train leaving an hour late.

Rahul Dravid, averaging over 70 in test matches this year, replaced Sehwag at the crease, and erased all memory of Sehwag's batting with his first scoring stroke, a cover-drive which was sheer poetry in motion.

Darren Powell was introduced into the attack, and he immediately impressed. Powell bowls with a very whippy action, which allows him very good pace and bounce, along with a good line. His line was immediately rewarded when David Shepherd decided that Ashoka De Silva was not going to be the only umpire with a monopoly on 'bat before wicket' decisions in this series. Dravid must undoubtedly feel desperately unlucky to be given out to a delivery which he inside edged onto his pads.

Sachin Tendulkar made his way to the crease and although Powell made him hurry his shots, and also duck rather hurriedly, he stamped his authority with three superb drives to the boundary. Two through the offside and the third straight down the wicket. For a bowler bowling in only his second test, on a dead track against the best batsman of his era, Powell certainly held his own, and bowled with some hostility to Tendulkar. Although he did not appear to be going flat out, Powell's quickest delivery of the day was timed at 143.9 kph, which certainly confirms his status as a genuine speedster.

Predictably, however, it was Tendulkar who held sway.

At lunch, India had lost just the two wickets of Sehwag and Dravid, and Tendulkar was looking ominously in touch, although he seemed a little too eager to attack the bowling. With Bangar being completely tied down in the first two sessions, the onus was on Tendulkar to get the runs, and his dismissal, along with Ganguly's later in the day, could atleast partially be attributed to Bangar's inability to keep the score moving. As things turned out, it was left to Jermaine Lawson, also playing in his second test, to remove Tendulkar with a delivery outside off stump. A fuller delivery, making Tendulkar reach for it in an attempt to drive, saw it being edged to slip, where Gayle held the catch.

Lawson will doubtless be overjoyed to have removed Tendulkar in two successive innings. He again looked impressive in this test, although he did not bowl with the pace that he did in the previous test. One wonders if he has been asked to eschew speed for greater control?

Ganguly, whose avowed ambition is to score a test hundred at Eden Gardens, started his innings with a beautifully on driven four. He also played some exquisite shots through the offside before edging an attempted cut off Hooper. Jacobs holding a fairly sharp catch.

VVS Laxman was the next batsman, returning to the venue where he made 281 in his last innings to give India an improbable victory after following on against Australia. He played some fluent shots and with Bangar also opening out in the final session, it looked as if India would consolidate their position before the end of the day.

Almost against the run of play, Bangar tried to drive Cuffy on the rise through cover and was caught by Hinds. He scored a very valuable 77, after being dropped very early on by Chanderpaul in the slips, a difficult but by no means impossible chance. Cuffy was rewarded for some tight bowling, although it must be said that his role in a test team that is short of strike bowlers is difficult to understand.

Laxman delighted the crowd with some delightfully timed shots, but he edged Dillon to Gayle at first slip with his score on 48 to leave India at 275 for 6.

Although the West Indies do have to bat last, the loss of the two late wickets definitely puts them in the game. If they are able to bowl to Harbhajan and the other tailenders with a plan, they have the opportunity to put the pressure on India in the second innings. In Lawson and Powell, they have two bowlers with the pace, if not the experience to bundle out the tail. A reasonable performance here would go a long way in not only salvaging West Indian pride, but also in showing which members of the current team have the character to put in a good performance on what has been a difficult tour.