Late wickets give India
the initiative

Day Two

India's pace attack grabbed five of the six West Indian wickets to fall on day two of the second Test at the Queen's Park, Oval, tilting the game in their favour.

At close of play, the West Indies were floundering at 197 for 6, still 142 runs short of India's first innings total of 339, after Brian Lara got his first half-century after returning from an injury that kept him out the game for five months.

Javagal Srinath picked three wickets, while Zaheer Khan bagged the prized wicket of Lara and Ashish Nehra snapped up the well-set Ramnaresh Sarwan to stifle the host team's innings.

On a ground that is described as more Indian than West Indian, the visitors have firmly entrenched their hold on the critical Test to go one-up in the five-Test series though there are another three days and 270 overs yet to be bowled.

Morning session

A new ball, seven overs old, and two recognised batsmen -- one with an overnight century under his belt. The second day of the second Test at the Queen’s Park, Oval, started on an even keel. If Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman could stay in for a session, India would dictate terms in the Test. On the other hand, if the West Indian bowlers could get their act right and clean up the Indian innings in the first session, they could claw back into the game, what with their top batsmen in prime form.

Leaning into a fullish delivery from Merv Dillon, Laxman played a silken cover drive to the fence in the third over of the day. But Cameron Cuffy, the pick of the West Indian bowlers, cut one back in, trapping Tendulkar plumb in front for 117 runs. Tendulkar had in the same over survived a close LBW decision, but failed to survive the next appeal having played completely down the wrong line.

India, at 276 for 5, failed to seize the initiative of running away with a tall first innings total after the departure of Tendulkar.

Cuffy then found the edge of debutant Ajay Ratra’s bat with a delivery that pitched just around off-stump for keeper Junior Murray to complete a good diving catch to his right. Ratra walked back to the pavilion for a seven-ball duck and the stuttering Indian innings seemed in danger of not reaching the 300-run mark. (282-6)

The morning clearly belonged to Cuffy; the wide gulf between his impeccable control and that of the rest of the West Indian bowlers was clearly evident. At drinks, Cuffy’s morning spell read 6 overs - 4 maidens - 6 runs - 2 wickets. He displayed that the disadvantage of lack of pace could be balanced with a tight line and length.

In the first over after drinks, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, returning after missing the first Test, failed to open his account, hooking a short one from Adam Sanford to the square-leg fielder. The young Sardar had earlier in his brief stint at the wicket provided a light moment after he fell on his backside while trying an improbable cross-batted swing at Sanford.

Zaheer Khan was sent ahead of Javagal Srinath, who boasts of four Test half-centuries, and was castled, with the score reading 298 for 8, when Adam Sanford angled one in that deflected off the pad onto the stumps for 5.

The fall of wickets at one end failed to unnerve Laxman, who continued playing his strokes and ticking the scoreboard. He reached his second consecutive half-century of the series by rocking onto his backfoot and pulling Sanford to the fence for four; the stroke also got India to the 300-run mark.

Laxman’s 50 off 106 deliveries didn't have a single run scored in the ‘V’, which is a rare occurrence for the wristy Hyderabadi with a repertoire of strokes at his disposal.

Srinath, demoted down the order, seemed determined to prove his batting prowess by using the long handle to good effect, flashing and reaching the fence to give India some important runs. The Laxman-Srinath combination added 33 runs for the ninth-wicket at the stroke of lunch.

India, at 331 for 8 had collected 69 runs for the loss of four wickets in the morning session, and after closing towards the 350-run mark seemed to be in a comfortable position.

At lunch, Laxman was batting on 61 while Srinath was on 18.

Post Lunch session:

Marlon Black claimed the wickets of Srinath, who moved to the off-stump while trying to play the ball down leg and was trapped plumb in front, and Nehra, who edged one outside off to Hooper at first slip and was out for for a duck.

Laxman remained unbeaten on a fine 69, the same score he got in the first Test at Georgetown, as the Indian first innings folded for 339.

Srinath shared the new ball with left-arm swing bowler Ashish Nehra and the duo did well, rapping the pads for a couple of LBW appeals.

The pressure was released in the sixth over when Gayle dispatched Nehra to the fence twice and Stuart Williams reaped three boundaries off the next Srinath over -- one driven beautifully through extra cover, another guided to the third man fence, and the next, a nudge to the point fence. The West Indies were off to a flier.

Zaheer Khan replaced Nehra in the eighth over of the innings and was slapped by Gayle through the covers for four.

Srinath then swapped ends and along with Ganguly set up the dismissal of Chris Gayle. The left-handed opener, with his perennial problem of failing to move his feet, pushed at Srinath as the ball spooned in the air only to fall short of the point fielder, Harbhajan Singh.

Ganguly immediately employed Das at shortish cover and Gayle, playing inside the line off the very next delivery, got a leading edge for Das to gobble a simple catch.

Stuart Williams, growing in confidence, played two majestic pull shots off Zaheer to maintain a good run rate of around four, with the young Ramnaresh Sarwan looking impregnable in his defence.

The West Indians brigade charged on, piling 80 runs in 20 overs before Harbhajan, as always, got India the required breakthrough at the stroke of tea. Harbhajan gave more air to a delivery, which pitched on middle and had Williams caught bat-pad at short-leg off Das for a 43.

The Indian bowlers disappointed with the new ball and failed to get any purchase from the wicket which suddenly seemed to wake up occasionally and then went right back to sleep.

It would be interesting to watch Zaheer and Nehra, both left-arm pacers bowl in tandem at the Lara-Sarwan combine. While swing bowler Nehra relies more on the release of the ball, Zaheer banks on hitting the deck and using the bouncer to good effect.

With West Indies on 80 for 2 in the post-lunch session, trailing by 259 runs, and Lara the next man in, the stage seems set for an interesting post-tea session.

Post Tea session:

Ganguly started the last session of the day with his best bowlers, Srinath and Harbhajan Singh, hoping to scalp Lara early on. The move almost paid dividends instantaneously when Harbhajan Singh rapped Brian Lara (8) on the pads; the ball pitched in line with the stumps and looked set to disturb them. The umpire, however, refused to uphold the appeal.

The hosts reached their hundred in the 28th over at a pretty quick rate. India urgently needed a breakthrough.

An over later, at 106-2, Harbhajan again rapped Lara (14) on the pads in front of the wicket, but his appeal was, unfortunately, turned down yet again by the umpire.

The Lara-Sarwan combine toiled hard with Harbhajan having hit a purple patch, looking lethal with every delivery. Optimism soon faded as runs began trickling in at a fair pace and the breakthrough prvoing elusive.

Sarwan, growing in confidence, played the straightest of drives down the ground off Nehra before chasing a widish delivery which was angled across him and edged to Rahul Dravid at first slip for an industrious 35.

After a 56-run partnership for the third-wicket, Sarwan wasted all the hard work he put in through the afternoon session.

Lara, meanwhile, started seeing the ball fast and large, as is his wont, and reached his first half-century of the series by steering the ball down to the third man fence. After scratching around early on in his innings, the Port-of-Spain prince made batting look as easy as breathing with some silken glides and breathtaking drives.

With skipper Hooper and Lara playing with caution, the West Indies innings seemed to be coasting safely in the port city before Zaheer, who coaxed a thin edge to keeper Ratra , dismissed Lara (52) with the hosts on 179 for 4, still 160 runs in arrears.

The boisterous spectators at the Queen’s Park, Oval, went silent with Lara’s dismissal -- the left-handed genius had yet again failed to score a century on his home ground.

Zaheer, pumped up by the prized wicket of Lara, dug one in short to greet Shivnaraine Chanderpaul off the first ball he faced, kicking it up to his chin.

The West Indies then slumped further when Srinath wedged Chanderpaul in front of the wicket, though the ball pitched a couple of inches outside the line of leg-stump. With some obvious decisions not having being given, the prompt decision by umpire Daryl Harper seemed dubious.

Off the last ball of the same over, Srinath, who has bowled his heart out in the series, won the most plumb of LBW decisions of the innings against keeper Junior Murray, yet to score a run in the series like his fellow-keepers in the Indian team.

Srinath’s spell read 3 overs - 1 maiden - 7 runs - 2 wickets. With figures of 51 for 3 wickets from his 15 overs in the innings, the Indian spearhead was easily the pick of the Indian bowlers.

Skipper Ganguly, excited at the prospect of gaining a huge first-innings lead if he could pick the remaining four West Indian wickets, shuffled his field around after every delivery, wasting precious time even as the sun sank behind the picturesque Oval ground.

At 197-6, the umpires offered the light to the batsmen, who promptly walked off the ground with eight of the 90 mandatory overs yet to be bowled.

Ganguly, for his part had one of his finest days in his fielding career, coming up with some great diving saves. But for failing to check the flow of runs behind square -- 59 -- he seemed to have made well timed bowling changes and attacked like we haven't seen him do all of this year.

And finally, the decree on India’s new wicketkeeper, Ajay Ratra: Fresh and sharp, Ratra’s collection behind the stumps seems to be accomplished and can only get better with time and experience. Barring a missed stumping chance of Sarwan, the young Haryana keeper seems ready to slip into his role of donning the gloves for a long time. Deep Dasgupta would do well to concentrate purely on establishing himself as a specialist opening batsman.

India seems to be firmly placed in the driver’s seat in this Test, looking to make a hat-trick of Test wins at Port-of-Spain.

Detailed Scoreboard

Day 1