'Hooper Blunders Cost Windies'

Carl Hooper's captaincy tactics was called into question Sunday after the third Test dragged to a boring draw with former Indian batting mainstay Sanjay Manjrekar saying Hooper's blunders may have cost the West Indies a win.

In a column for Wisden Online (paid subscription required), Manjrekar said there were only three possible results when India walked out to bat on the final day but "a few errors of judgement from Carl Hooper" allowed India to save the match.

"When the match resumed this morning, there were three possible results, the most likely being a draw or a West Indian win. But Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman batted sensibly to ensure that the last option was ruled out," Manjrekar said.

"There were a few errors of judgement from Carl Hooper this morning, especially in the first 40 minutes. The plans he made in that period were crucial, and in a sense they let India off the hook lightly. He got it spot-on early, when he started with a pace-spin attack of Mervyn Dillon and himself.

While Dillon bowled well without getting any wickets, Manjrekar said Hooper looked to be a very reluctant bowler and erred when he took himself out of the attack . (That) was a big mistake because both Laxman and Tendulkar were clearly uncomfortable facing him. A couple of times, the ball took the glove only to fall marginally short of the fielder."

He said Hooper's decision to replace Dillon with Cameron Cuffy, who does little more than bowl line and length, was further good news for the Indians.

Manjrekar credited the batting of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman but said the day's play was all about the first hour. "Once India crossed that hurdle, they were never troubled," he said.