Laxman, Ganguly redeem India

Day Three

Skipper Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman redeemed India after the setback of losing Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, for a duck, with an unbeaten 109-run partnership for the fifth-wicket on day three in the second Test against the West Indies, at the Queen's Park Oval, on Sunday.

India ended the day on 165 for 4, giving them a lead of 259 runs with six second-innings wickets standing and two days' play left.

The West Indian hands went deeper into the pockets as the combine of Ganguly-Laxman piled on the runs, leaving their batsmen with the daunting task of batting last against the wily Harbhajan Singh.

The fourth day's play will probably be the perfect premise for Brian Lara to decide the fate of his team.

Morning session

Over the last year, the last four wickets of the West Indies had a collective average of 14 runs. Against India, on the third day of the second Test, the last four added 65 runs and batted the better part of the morning.

India, in their second innings, were 15 for 1, having lost Shiv Sundar Das LBW to Mervyn Dillon before lunch. But with a lead of 109 runs, they seem comfortably placed.

India, despite having gained a significant first innings lead of 94 runs, took too many overs to claim the final four wickets. Ashish Nehra and Javagal Srinath started the proceedings for the day and Nehra bowled too many balls outside off to force a dismissal while Srinath drifted down leg to release the pressure on the home team. Overnight batsmen Dillon and Carl Hooper took the West Indian total past the 200-run mark before Nehra had Dillon (6) LBW with one that pitched on middle and straightened to arrest the batsman bang in front of the wickets. (201-7)

The Indian bowling, though tight, -- 19 runs came in the first hour of play -- was unable to achieve the breakthroughs required to get a hundred-plus first innings lead.

Harbhajan Singh then produced an exceptional pick-up-and-throw to catch Marlon Black short of his crease. Hooper daubed the ball to the offside and set off for a single after much indecision but failed to beat Harbhajan’s direct throw. Black had added 16 runs for the eighth-wicket but, more importantly, batted for a good 45 minutes. (217-8)

Hooper, realising that the innings was coming to an end, tried to up the ante. He reached his half-century despite failing to middle the ball with the same fluency as he had the previous day.

Zaheer, like yesterday, produced the decisive delivery, angling the ball across Hooper, who played a flashy drive to the covers but failed to keep it down as Ganguly swallowed the catch.

Harbhajan cleaned up the West Indian innings, forcing Sanford to swipe at him; the ball flew high up in the air and Tendulkar took a difficult catch running in from the mid-wicket fence.

The West Indies had scored 65 vital runs in the first session of play and reduced the vital three-figure lead to 94 runs. With eight sessions still to be played, patriotism is the only reason to believe that India have the match in the pocket.

Indian innings:

Das became another victim of the leg-before wicket dismissals when Dillon had him plumb in front for a 15-ball duck. India went into lunch at 15-1, with two well-timed flicks to the mid-wicket fence by Rahul Dravid looking in ominous touch.

Post Lunch session:

The West Indian bowlers were given a repeated lesson on why Rahul Dravid is one of the finest exponents of the pull shot in world cricket every time they dropped short. Leaning into the delivery, Dravid played the smoothest cover drive of the Test yet to take the Indian total to 50 for one wicket.

Bangar, on the other hand, paled in comparison but showed a lot of resolve by clutching one end as the in-form Dravid caressed the ball around the Oval with a business-like method. India didn’t lose a wicket in the first hour of play after lunch.

With the lead stretching to the 150-run mark, the Indian battle was halfway through its course. Another 150 runs on the board would clearly have closed the door on a West Indian win.

Would the Indians be able to manufacture a run at destiny as they did 26 years ago on the same ground, chasing a world record fourth innings total?

That question was almost answered when Bangar, after scratching around for 62 balls, snicked Sanford to second slipper Hooper. The only positive aspect of the dismissal was that it confirmed the need for a specialist opener to take guard upfront instead of looking to forcefully fashion all-rounders out of average cricketers.

At 54 for 2, Sachin Tendulkar walked out to bat on familiar territory, with Dravid looking on course for another tall score. Dravid then gloved one from Cuffy; trying to work the ball down the leg-side, to Junior Murray who took a good catch, diving to his left, to open the floodgates.

Having reached 36 runs, caressed with six boundaries, Dravid’s dismissal, without the addition of another run to the team total, had two new batsmen at the crease.

The Indians were jolted rudely when Adam Sanford hit Tendulkar high on the pads. Tendulkar had not played forward but the ball clearly seemed to be sailing a good four inches over the bails. Umpire De Silva’s index finger had spoken and Tendulkar trudged off the ground, setting another record -- that of scoring a hundred and a duck in the same Test for the first time.

With the total reading 56 for 4, if any Indian supporter trembled a bit, it wasn't out of paranoia. Adam Sanford, with figures of 11 for 2 from 7 overs, had precipitated a middle-order collapse. Bowling an immaculate line and length, he trickled the gush of runs from the blade of Dravid and forced the batsmen to take chances in their bid to keep the scoreboard ticking.

At the crease stood two men, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman; one in the midst of a pathetic patch and another, who despite scoring two half-centuries in the series, seems a shadow of the man who scored the epic 281 against the Australians at Eden Gardens last year.

On a wicket where no batsman is ever completely set, either Laxman or Ganguly need to score briskly and stretch the lead as close as possible to the 300-run mark, though that might seem a tad difficult with only keeper Ratra and Harbhajan Singh to follow.

With a lead of 171 runs, the Windies will be aware of the task on hand while batting the fourth innings on a dual-paced wicket.

India went into tea at 77 for 4, having added 62 runs in the post-lunch session but losing three crucial wickets.

Post Tea session:

Laxman smacked the first ball from Cuffy to the cover fence and then unfolded another silken drive for four past point to kick-start the final session of play.

Ganguly -- barring the caught-behind appeal off Mervyn Dillon that was turned down -- seemed steel-willed to lead the Indian revival and despite struggling early on in the innings played a resolute innings.

With a superb flick past mid-on to the fence, Laxman appeared set for his third consecutive half-century of the series.

Granted a shot at glory, Ganguly realised the need to salvage India’s overseas record. After throwing his wicket away easily in the first innings of the Test, he set about redemption in the only way he should -- to his strength. Each time he drove and played in front of the wicket he seemed to be at ease; the only weak link in his innings today was the cut shot.

According to former South African coach Bob Woolmer, left-handed batsmen who use their right-hand to bowl and field are predominantly players who are vulnerable to the cut and the pull shots, which involve a lot of the bottom hand. The rule, of course, does not hold true for all southpaws but has been a chink in the armoury of certain left-handed batsmen. The Indian skipper and South African opener Gary Kirsten are two immediate examples in world cricket today.

Right-handed Laxman, meanwhile, flicked the ball down to deep square and ran a swift couple to register his third consecutive fifty of the series. The fifty, off 110 balls, was in stark contrast to his fifty in the first innings, which was stained with unsure prods outside the off –stump. Without stifling his stroke-making, the wristy Hyderabadi reassessed his shot-selection and pulled through an innings of rare fortitude.

While Ganguly collected the singles, Laxman went about finding the fence and running the twos. The Indian lead swelled substantially, assuming threatening proportions for the home team.

Laxman pulled Sanford majestically, smashing the ball into the advertisement boards as the duo reached the hundred-run partnership for the fifth-wicket off 240 balls. (159-4)

Bad-light stopped play as the Indian pair of Ganguly-Laxman, with a 109-run partnership, pulled India out of the afternoon setback and into the driver’s seat yet again.

Detailed Scoreboard

Day 2
Day 1