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India’s troubled relationship with Kensington Oval continued and they looked headed for another defeat at this ground, having succumbed to 169 for four in their second innings on the third day of the third cricket Test against West Indies here. On a pitch where West Indian batsmen thrived, especially skipper Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul who struck centuries to guide their team to 394 in the first innings for a commanding 292-run lead, the Indians floundered once again and were in danger of being shot out for another low total.
With 123 runs still required to wipe out the first innings deficit and just two recognised batsmen remaining, it would be an uphill task for the Indians even to avoid a humiliating innings defeat at this venue which has seen them lose six of the seven earlier matches. Two full days’ play remain and all hopes of the Indians are pinned on skipper Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman who have so far added 51 runs for the fifth wicket. Ganguly was batting on 15 and Laxman on 30 when stumps were drawn yesterday.
Ironically, the openers did not fail the team this time and put on 80 runs for the first wicket with Wasim Jaffer making an attractive 51, his first Test half-century. But the middle order failed to capitalise on the best start in the series so far and two of the most dependable batsmen, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, were dismissed cheaply in quick succession to throw India into deep trouble. Ganguly and Laxman were left to repeat their rescue act of the second Test when they put on a 149-run partnership to pull India out of a seemingly hopeless 56 for four and provide what turned out to be a match-winning
total.
But both will be thanking their stars for being let off early in their innings. Ganguly survived a difficult chance even before he had opened his account when Ramnaresh Sarwan failed to hold on to a reflex catch off a hard flick at forward short leg. Laxman was beaten outside the off-stump off two successive deliveries from left-arm seamer Pedro Collins before actually edging the third to wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs but to his relief umpire Daryl Harper had already called it a no-ball.
Laxman, who did not hesitate to go for his trademark strokes earlier, playing a few elegant drives on the off-side and even hooking Mervyn Dillon for a boundary to mid-wicket, restrained his instincts after that and played out the day. But the most impressive knock for the Indians certainly came from Jaffer whose 51 was studded with ten boundaries. After cautiously negotiating the first few overs, Jaffer, who is making a comeback into the national side and had failed in the first innings, played with a lot of confidence and hit some delightful strokes on the off-side.
Nine of his ten boundaries were hit between covers and backward point region with Collins taking the maximum punishment from the young Mumbai batsman. Jaffer raced to his fifty off only 67 balls but was run out in an unfortunate manner after that. While trying to steal a single, Jaffer was outpaced by a brilliant pick and direct hit from Chanderpaul and his two- hour sterling effort came to an abrupt end.
Das, who has struggled on this tour, grafted for over three hours and scored 35, his highest in this series so far, off 138 balls before being out at 101. Das' uppish drive off Dillon stuck in the hands of Sarwan at forward short leg. Dravid, who had started the series in a memorable fashion with an unbeaten 144, continued his slide, taking 61 balls for his 14 before edging an Adam Sanford delivery to Jacobs.
And Tendulkar failed for the third successive innings, this time being trapped leg-before by Dillon after making eight. From a comfortable 80 without loss, India slumped to 118 for four, needing another 174 to make West Indies bat again. While it was Dillon who took the prized wickets of Tendulkar and Das, the home team's most impressive bowler was certainly Cameron Cuffy who conceded just three runs from 18 overs, 15 of them being maidens.
Hooper and Chanderpaul had earlier placed West Indies in a dominant position with their second centuries of the series. They added 215 runs for the fifth wicket, their second double- century partnership in three Tests, before West Indies lost their last six wickets for just 18 runs to be all out for 394. West Indies resumed at their overnight 314 for four and India were able to keep things tight for the first 40 minutes when just 16 runs were scored from nine
overs.
But Hooper suddenly exploded and hit three fours in an over of Ashish Nehra, the last one bringing up his 12th century. He followed it up with two more in the next two overs as West Indies looked headed for a huge total. But Harbhajan Singh gave India the vital breakthrough when he foxed Hooper with a delivery that spun the other way. Going for another big hit, Hooper miscued his shot and was well caught by Tendulkar at mid-off. Hooper batted for 345 minutes for his 115, hitting 18 boundaries. Chanderpaul also reached his hundred, his fourth, three of which have come against India, sometime later but by then the familiar late order collapse had already started.
Nehra dismissed Jacobs for nought and Dillon for six before Harbhajan Singh struck off two successive balls to send back Adam Sanford and Pedro Collins as West Indies came crashing down to 393 for nine. The innings folded one over later when Cuffy was run out for one leaving Chanderpaul unbeaten on 101 which included 13 hits to the fence.
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