Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport
Indian bowler Sreesanth (centre) celebrates the dismissal of Brian Lara (red cap) with Anil Kumble (right) yesterday at Sabina Park. At left, Rahul Dravid looks on. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
THE WEST Indies bowled their way back into the fourth and final Test against India at Sabina Park yesterday after the batsmen meekly surrendered the initiative earlier in the day.
After bowling superbly to hold the tourists to an extremely surpassable 200 on the opening day, the hosts were bundled out for a paltry 103 yesterday through a display of remarkably inept and thoughtless batting on a pitch which has provided some bounce and pace but no real devils.
The score, made in a mere 33.3 overs, was also the lowest ever by the West Indies against India, 'surpassing' 127 made in Delhi in 1987-88.
However, at stumps last night, India were wavering at 128 for six with an overall lead of 225 and the match and deadlocked series is evenly poised.
The Windies got off to the worst possible start to their first innings yesterday when the nippy Sreesanth bowled Chris Gayle for a duck in the first over without a score on the board.
Skipper Brian Lara, batting at three due to Ramnaresh Sarwan's leg injury, flared briefly and looked like he might take the game away from the Indians but, on 26, he received a nasty lifter from Sreesanth and was caught at third slip by Wasim Jaffer and the Windies were battling at 42-2.
MAN IN A HURRY
Marlon Samuels then came to the crease and looked like a man in a hurry. He was put down at third slip by Jaffer playing a lusty drive off Sreesanth when on one, but that indiscretion by the Indian was not punished as the Jamaican quickly fell for two, neatly stumped by Mahendra Dhoni off the bowling of Anil Kumble with the score at 53.
Former skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul batted sedately at first and then had an inexcusable rush of blood to the head just 20 minutes before lunch against Munaf Patel. After snicking him through slips for a boundary to advance his score to 10, the usually calm Guyanese then went for another lusty swipe in the same over and managed only to put the ball in the gloves of Dhoni.
Harbhajan Singh delivered the coup de grâce to the West Indies' top order on the stroke of lunch when he trapped Daren Ganga leg before for 40 with the score at 80.
Ganga batted resolutely for his runs, which included five boundaries, and despite some testing times against Kumble, he looked the most able of the Windies' batsmen.
Dwayne Bravo succumbed straight after the break for a duck, caught by Yuvraj Singh at short leg off namesake Harbhajan, although it appeared at least 90 per cent of the crowd didn't care as they were watching the England-Portugal penalty shoot-out.
Sarwan limped out with runner
Samuels and made all of seven before playing an ill-timed pull off 'The Turbanator' which fell comfortably into the lap of Mohammed Kaif at mid on to make it seven down for 88.
Keeper Denesh Ramdin (10) was victim No. 4 for Harbhajan when he was caught at short leg by Yuvraj.
Shortly after, hometown hero Jerome Taylor (six) called for a single, ran the length of the pitch and was hung out to dry by Pedro Collins.
Collins (0) then gained further 'adoration' from the crowd by denying a single from last man in Corey Collymore and then holing out in the next over to deep mid on off Singh to give the bowler perhaps the softest five-wicket haul of his career.
Singh finished with the over-flattering figures of 5-13 off a mere 4.3 overs. Seamers Sreesanth (2-24) and Patel (1-24) probably bowled better than the spinner for far less rewards.
Only halfway through the day and India were back at the crease with a robust 97-run lead.
BRIEF RAIN DELAY
After a brief rain delay, Taylor, the first innings star with 5-50, set the Indians back early with dual strikes in his first two overs. First, he induced an edge from Jaffer (one) which was well caught at third slip by substitute fielder Runako Morton and then followed that up in the next over with a delivery which trapped Virender Sehwag plumb in front for four completing a miserable Jamaica stay for the opener who made a duck in the first innings.
Just before tea, Indian captain Rahul Dravid played a superb back-foot cover drive to bring up his 9,000th run in Tests and in the process became the fastest player to reach that milestone pipping rival captain Lara by an innings (176 to 177).
Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman guided India through to tea at 41-2. However, shortly after the break the persistent Collymore induced an edge from Laxman (16) which Lara, moving low and to his right at second slip, caught sweetly to put some heat back on India at 49-3.
Collymore and Lara then pulled the same trick on leftie Yuvraj Singh (13) to set the Caribbean cat among the pigeons at 63-4.
Collins caused further Indian feathers to be ruffled when he bowled Kaif for six with the score at 76.
Resolute Dravid and Dhoni put on 46 for the sixth wicket before the latter, after a ferocious square cut for four, was bowled by Taylor for 19 to make it 122-6.
That left first innings stalwarts Dravid (62) and Kumble (two) to see their team through to stumps without further loss. They will resume today seeking to put the game out of the Windies' reach.
Taylor, again the pick of the bowlers, finished with 3-28 off 10 overs while Collins returned figures of 1-56 off 18 and Collymore 2-31 off 16.
On a pitch which the batsmen have failed to adjust to, India are in the driver's seat but a quick collapse today would put the hosts in with the chance of a rare series victory.
SCOREBOARD
INDIA 1st Innings 200
WEST INDIES 1st Innings
C. Gayle b Sreesanth 0
D. Ganga lbw b Harbhajan 40
B. Lara c Jaffer b Sreesanth 26
M. Samuels st Dhoni b Kumble 2
S. Chanderpaul c wk Dhoni b Patel 10
D. Bravo c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 0
R. Sarwan c Kaif b Harbhajan 7
+D. Ramdin c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 10
J. Taylor run out 6
P. Collins c Sehwag b Harbhajan 0
C. Collymore not out 0
Extras (w1, nb1) 2
TOTAL (all out, 33.3 overs) 103
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-42, 3-53, 4-72, 5-80, 6-81, 7-88, 8-99, 9-103, 10-103.
Bowling: Sreesanth 9-3-34-2, Patel 12-5-24-1 (w1), Kumble 8-3-32-1 (nb1), Harbhajan Singh 4.3-0-13-5.
INDIA 2nd Innings
W. Jaffer c Samuels b Taylor 1
V. Sehwag lbw b Taylor 4
VVS Laxman c Lara b Collymore 16
R. Dravid not out 62
M. Kaif b Collins 6
+M. Dhoni b Taylor 19
A. Kumble not out 2
Extras (lb3, w1, nb1) 5
TOTAL (6 wkts, 49 overs) 128
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-6, 3-49, 4-63, 5-76, 6-122.
Bowling: Collins 19-7-56-1 (nb1), Taylor 10-3-28-3, Collymore 16-5-31-2, Bravo 4-1-10-0.
Position: India lead by 225 runs with four wickets standing.
Umpires: Rudi Koertzen, Brian Jerling. TV replays: Norman Malcolm.
Match referee: Jeff Crowe.
