Tue, 28 Jun 2011 - India vs West Indies, India Tour of West Indies 2011, 2nd Test Match- Bulletin

Rain affected match ends in tense draw

After about two days of play were severely affected by weather, the last day at Barbados was a gripping battle with India most of time in front due to Ishant Sharma’s 10 for where as, Darren Bravo gritty 73 saved the day for the hosts. The match ended in draw when bad light stopped play when West Indies had inched to 202 for 7, still needing 79 runs to win in about 10 overs.

India kept their hopes of wrapping the test series in Barbados itself alive with an aggressive declaration setting the Windies a tricky target of 281 in about 83 overs. Dhoni’s decision looked all the more impressive when Sarwan and Simmons were knocked over even before at lunch on the last day.

On a track that did lot of things to keep the bowlers interested, the West Indian openers started the chase in a positive manner by playing their strokes. The pair of Barath and Simmons had momentarily put their team in contention at Sabina Park with a similar start in the last innings but today it did not last that long, Ishant sucked Simmons into a drive that rifled to Dravid at first slip. Sarwan’s poor run in the series continued, this time around he was victim of Praveen Kumar instead the Ishant. At 27 for two, Windies were in some strife but Barath and Bravo survived till the break, one or two balls came perilously close to the outside edge, one even fell inches short of first slip. A scorecard reading of 51 for 2 with two full sessions available may have give the Windies a theoretical chance to draw level, however, this is not an easy pitch to bat on and the outfield was dead slow.

Darren Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul blunted the Indian attack for 28 overs after an early shock in the penultimate session to give themselves a decent chance of saving the match. The bowlers led by Ishant Sharma have been incisive so far but lost steam as the play went on in the afternoon heat to allow the Windies crawl to 108 for 3, still needing 173 in about 37 overs.

Ishant has been in menacing form having used the bounce and movement to good effect. He gave India the best possible start to the session removing Barath with a cleverly bowled leg-cutter that caught batsmen on the crease. That dismissal so early surely set the cat among the pigeons but West Indies still had comforting presence of Chanderpaul who made 12 off 83 balls.

Though, the Brian Laraesque Darren Bravo survived some close calls he showed enough resolve to come out unhurt with 45 to his name. Unlike Chanderpaul, Bravo did play some shots to keep the score board moving, seven boundaries in all.

For the visitors, the bowling in later stages was a disappointment often lacking energy and the vibrancy required to force a result. When Dhoni made an attacking declaration in the morning, he was hoping for a spirited show from his bowling men, so far they haven’t lived up to that.

After the tea interval, the match turned on its head- Bhajji struck immediately to revive hopes of an Indian win although Ian Gould got the LBW decision horribly wrong with the ball missing the stumps by a big margin. The chances of a win further brightened when Ishant trapped Samuels in front of the stumps. Had Dhoni held on to a regulation nick off Baugh when the batsman was on nought, the match would have tilted in India’s favour big time. But, the diminutive Baugh survived some anxious moments against his tormentor Harbhajan, playing the occasional hostile hit to release the mounting pressure.

Darren Bravo on the other end looked assured after the initial jitters. He anchored the innings for most part of the day, in the process bringing up his fifth test fifty. He along with Baugh scored at a good rate, three boundaries in a Mukund over briefly brought the equation in conquerable territory for Windies; exactly 100 needed in 18.3 overs not a Herculean task in this age of T20 cricket.

Till now, rain for a change was no where in the picture that did not remain so. A passing shower came out of the blue to halt play for about half an hour, an over of play was lost as a result. A wet patch in the outfield further spiced up the events, a tense finish awaited the small crowd. Baugh and Bravo survived crucial five overs to push the match towards a draw but there was a final twist in the tail, Bravo on 73 off 174 balls was caught behind in the 71st over. Sharma deserved the tenth wicket in a match where he easily overshadowed everybody in the bowling department and he reached there through Darren Sammy’s wicket in the next over, about ten overs still remained in the innings. It seemed India would force a result finally after five days of gripping but rain dominated cricket, bad light came to the rescue of the home team.

The exciting last few moments apart, it was Fidel Edwards’ morning who picked up three to complete a five-for in a fiery new ball spell. Darren Sammy claimed the brand new cherry straightaway in a bid to take some early wickets and slow down the scoring rate possibly delaying the inevitable declaration. The strategy paid off almost immediately as Virat Kohli having lost his place for the England tour drove loosely at a wide one and lost his wicket as well for 27.VVS Laxman who was a mountain of patience on the fourth day came out with clear-cut intention to up the ante for the declaration. He was lucky to have got eight runs off two edges that missed the fielders but the third one came straight to second slip and Laxman once again missed a test century, this time falling 15 short. His innings, however, was vital in the build up to the declaration.

Edwards has been criticized for going overboard with short pitched stuff, he rectified that bowling a fullish length and getting considerable away swing. Both Kohli and Laxman were done in by the same prodigious movement. Indian captain, MS Dhoni came out with an aggressive mindset but eventually fell trying to play one too many shots and Edwards was rewarded for bowling his heart out.

Dhoni’s batting may not have clicked but he definitely got the declaration right, the pitch and fragility of the WI batting line-up were the two main reasons that made him press for a series clinching victory.

With India already 1-0 up in the series the question of a loss is already out of the window. West Indies would think that they got out of jail some how and would try to redeem themselves in the last test starting next week.

Day 4: Bulletin on next page