The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
Unable to digest the second straight defeat, West Indies captain
Carl Hooper today said his team had put up a shameful performance
in the first two matches and slammed the batsmen for their poor
show.
"It's a shame for a national side. It's disappointing," a
frustrated Hooper said after another huge defeat at the hands of
India. "There are no excuses. There was no problem with the wicket.
We have played on tougher wickets in India."
That was the thought that came to mind when the West Indies
ended the day 37 runs ahead, having made heavy weather of the task
of dismissing India's tail in the first innings.
With India on 190/5 in response to West Indies' first innings 167,
Hooper started the day with Breese at one end and a pace bowler at
the other. The idea being to both use the uneven bounce in the
track and to get six overs through reasonably quickly while keeping
Dillon fresh for the new ball. Breese quickly accounted for Laxman,
his flight and turn making Laxman's attempted offdrive come
rocketing back for a return catch. With dropped catches having
deprived him of the opportunity to dismiss first Sehwag and then
Tendulkar, Breese had reason to be delighted at taking his first
test wicket.
Batsmen are known by their repertoire as well as their reign at
the crease. And Ramnaresh Sarwan, all curly hair and caressing
shots, knows that he still has not played a really big innings in
Test cricket.
But that has not stopped expectations in the Caribbean. It started
the day when he topped his debut at Bridgetown, Barbados in May
2000 with an unbeaten 84 against a Pakistan attack that featured
Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed.
"Expectations do not put pressure on me," Sarwan says.
"You cannot pick a specialist spinner, bring him to India, look
at the pitches that we have seen here and then not select him, that
just doesn?t make cricket sense."
That's the sentiment from former West Indies pacer-turned
commentator Michael Holding on the dropping of leg-spinner Mahendra
Nagamootoo for the second Test. Holding, who is covering the tour
for television said he was surprised Nagamootoo was left out of the
second Test side on the spin bowling friendly pitch at Chennai.
At the end of the second day, the second and possibly decisive test match in Chennai is very interestingly poised. After a typically spineless batting performance from the West Indian batsmen, the bowlers, with minimal assistance from the fielders, have brought the West Indies back into the game. After a plethora of dropped catches, the Indian dismissals were a display in irony, with Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar all getting clean bowled.