By From Tony Becca, Senior Sport Editor 
West Indies players celebrate the dismissal of Indian batsman V.V.S. Laxman early on yesterday's fourth day. Laxman made 43 before he edged a catch to Carl Hooper in the slips off the bowling of Pedro Collins. - Dellmar
BRIDGETOWN:
THE West Indies won the third Test of the Cable & Wireless series at Kensington Oval yesterday with a crushing victory over India.
Starting the fourth day of the five-day contest with India on 169 for four and trailing by 123, the West Indies, despite a fighting, undefeated 60 off 145 deliveries by Sourav Ganguly and an exciting hit-or-miss 46 off 45 deliveries by Zaheer Khan, picked up the remaining seven wickets for 127 runs to win by 10 wickets with well over a day to spare.
The end came 27 minutes after lunch when, with four runs needed for victory, Stuart Williams went onto the back foot and drove offspinner Harbhajan Singh to the extra-cover boundary.
The victory, the Windies first in nine matches, was greeted with thousands of fans running onto the field, blowing horns, beating drums and chanting, "West Indies, West Indies". Final score: India 102 and 296, West Indies 394 and five without loss.
With India winning the second Test at Queen's Park Oval by 37 runs, yesterday's victory by the West Indies, their 21st in 38 attempts at Kensington Oval, left the five-match contest level at one-one with two to go.
Entering the day with their last two specialist batsmen at the crease, India's chance of making a fight of it, of delaying what appeared the inevitable, rested with captain Ganguly and VS Laxman, and with Laxman, the man who rallied them to a spectacular victory over Australia one year ago with a superb career-best, Indian-best 281, opening up with three boundaries - including a lovely back foot drive to the point boundary off left-arm pacer Pedro Collins, it appeared that those who had predicted an early finish would be wrong.
Collins, however, the man who had cut down Sachin Tendulkar for zero in the first innings to knock India dizzy, struck in his second over - the fourth of the morning, and from there, it was just a matter of time before the West Indies celebrated their seventh victory over India in eight matches at Kensington.
With his hometown fans shouting to him, "Collins, pitch up the ball", the slim Barbadian, bowling around the wicket, responded, and when the right-handed Laxman drove at a delivery that cut away off the seam, Carl Hooper snapped up a low catch at second slip.
That was 183 for five, with only wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra and the bowlers to partner Ganguly, victory was in sight, and the flags of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Antigua were hoisted around the ground as the fans started the celebration and burst into "Rally 'round the West Indies".
With Ganguly coaxing him along, however, Ratra defended stubbornly before, one hour after the start and with the score on 204 for five, captain Hooper called for the second new ball as if to stay "enough is enough".
When man of the match Mervyn Dillon removed Ratra leg before wicket at 208 for six and Cameron Cuffy bowled Singh off his bat at 211 for seven, it did appear that enough was enough.
Throwing caution to the wind, however, Khan went at the bowlers, and with the ball flying over slips, with two mighty hits, one a lovely pull off pacer Adam Sanford, sailing over the boundary, India posted 74 off 82 deliveries in 65 minutes for the eighth wicket before, with lunch one over away, Hooper called on Ramnaresh Sarwan and his looping right-arm legspinners.
Probably thinking about another six, Khan drove at the first delivery and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs collected his fifth catch of the match and handed Sarwan his first Test wicket; and after the interval, Javagal Srinath drove at the first delivery and Christopher Gayle at second slip made it 285 for nine with Sarwan preening himself with two wickets in two deliveries.
The innings ended when Ashish Nehra swung at Dillon, and Collins going to his right at mid-on, took the catch on the third attempt.
