West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds raises his bat after making 100 runs during the second day's play of the third Test between India and the West Indies in Kolkata yesterday. - ReutersKOLKATA, India, CMC:
WAVELL HINDS spanked his third Test century and led a strong West Indies first innings response to India on the second day of the third and final Test match at the Eden Gardens Ground yesterday.
Hinds struck an even hundred and shared in a record 172-run opening stand with Chris Gayle as the West Indies closed at 189 for three - 169 runs behind - in response to India's first innings score of 358.
Gayle is not out on 80 and Shivnarine Chander-paul is on one after India hit back with three late wickets to stall an authoritative beginning by the West Indies, who were frustrated earlier in the day when the home side protracted their innings with strong lower order batting.
Starting the reply about 40 minutes before lunch, Gayle and Hinds played comfortably against the opening pace attack and while enduring some bother from the spinners - Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble - to go to lunch at 23 without loss, they maintained a solid, watchful approach even after the break.
The pair achieved a half-century opening stand in the 19th over, when Hinds square-cut off-spinner Harbhajan to the boundary.
The West Indies went to tea at 109 without loss, their effort surpassing by a long way the team's previous best first-wicket stand of the series - 60 in the second innings of the first Test in Mumbai.
Hinds secured his half century, with eight boundaries, 15 minutes before the tea break, while Gayle, playing an uncharacteristically patient innings, reached his 50 after the tea break with 10 boundaries, and by the close the tall left-hander had belted 14 fours and a huge six off Harbhajan over long-off.
Hinds had raced into the 90s by taking two fours in one over off Kumble - an extra-cover drive to reach 92, before pulling the next ball to the mid-wicket boundary to climb to 96 - and achieved his hundred three overs later by sweeping Harbhajan to fine leg for a single.
His hundred came in 228 minutes off 190 balls with 16 fours and the partnership bettered the previous West Indies opening stand record at Eden Gardens of 114 by Des Haynes and Gordon Greenidge in the 1987-88 series.
Hinds has now featured in erasing two West Indies opening partnership records by Haynes and Greenidge. His 147-run alliance with Sherwin Campbell against Australia in the Sydney Test of the 2000-2001 series, had topped the 1988-1989 mark of 135 by Greenidge and Haynes as the best against Australia.
Hinds eventually departed caught chest high at square leg by Sourav Ganguly, as he swept Harbhajan.
In a flash, Harbhajan deceived number three batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was smartly stumped by Parthiv Patel for two, and two balls later the tricky off-spinner bowled nightwatchman Mervyn Dillon (0) as the Windies dipped from an imperious position of 172 without loss to 186 for three.
Harbhajan has figures of three for 43 off 24 overs with nine maidens.
Earlier, the Indians - from an overnight 275 for six - slipped to 280 for seven in the first over when pacer Cameron Cuffy bowled Harbhajan (six) last ball of an eventful over in which Patel was dropped off the second ball of the day.
The young wicketkeeper/ batsman edged to third slip where the head high catch popped out of Carl Hooper's hands, and as the ball squirted behind the slip cordon, a diving Chris Gayle failed to hold the rebound.
Patel, with a career-best 47 and Javagal Srinath (46) flourished in an eight-wicket stand scoring at better than a run-a-minute until Jermaine Lawson, in his third over, had Patel caught by Chanderpaul at backward point as he lofted an attempted square drive.
The 17-year-old Patel, playing well off the back foot, added 73 in alliance with Srinath in only 12.1 overs, and had struck six boundaries, when he departed three short of a maiden test half-century at 353 for eight.
Srinath departed five runs later, caught at second slip by Hooper off Dillon but his 40-ball knock, spiced with seven fours and one six, damaged the West Indies spirits in the session.
In one over, he took three lofted boundaries off Cuffy - to long on, long off and straight.
Pacer Darren Powell, in his second over, wrapped up the innings by trapping Anil Kumble leg before wicket for four.
Dillon, who entered the game as the West Indies' leading wicket-taker in the series with six wickets, picked up three for 82 off 22 overs to be the most successful bowler, supported by his fast-bowling colleagues Powell (2-62), Lawson (2-76), and Cuffy (2-84).
Hooper had a tidy one for 36 off 15 overs.
SCOREBOARD
India first innings
(Resumed at 275-6)
P. Patel c Chanderpaul b Lawson 47
H. Singh b Singh 6
J. Srinath c Hooper b Dillon 46
A. Kumble lbw Powell 4
A. Nehra not out 0
Extras (lb7, w1, nb8) 16
TOTAL (all out) 358
Fall: 1-49, 2-72, 3-116, 4-165, 5-242, 6-271, 7-280, 8-353, 9-358.
Bowling: Dillon 22-3-82-3 (2nb); Cuffy 25-4-84-2 (4nb, 1w); Lawson 20-3-76-2 (1nb); Powell 16.2-4-62-2; Hooper 15-5-36-1; Gayle 2-0-6-0; Sarwan 1-0-5-0.
West Indies first innings
C. Gayle not out 80
W. Hinds c Ganguly b Singh 100
R. Sarwan st Patel b Singh 2
M. Dillon b Singh 0
S. Chanderpaul not out 1
Extras (lb1, nb5) 6
TOTAL (for three wkts) 189
Fall: 1-172, 2-186, 3-186
Bowling: Srinath 6-2-26-0 (5nb); Nehra 13-8-24-0; Singh 24-9-43-3; Kumble 19-1-73-0; Bangar 6-3-14-0; Tendulkar 3-0-8-0.
