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The top-order batsmen failed to click and left India struggling to match an imposing first innings total posted by West Indies on the second day of the fifth and final cricket Test here.
The two in-form batsmen, opener Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid, were dismissed cheaply early in the innings and, after a minor recovery through a 69-run third wicket partnership, India lost resurgent Sachin Tendulkar and Shiv Sunder Das in quick succession.
That left India gasping at 86 for four while replying to West Indies’ first innings score of 422 before skipper Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman anchored the side to relative safety at 141 for four at close of day’s play yesterday. Still 281 runs behind, India needed 82 more runs to avert the follow-on with their last two recognised batsmen at the crease. Ganguly was batting on 22 while Laxman was on 27.
For the second successive day, the West Indians dominated the proceedings and had it not been for a maiden five-wicket haul on foreign soil by Harbhajan Singh, the home team would have posted a much bigger score.
Harbhajan led an Indian fightback in the second session as West Indies lost their last five wickets for 21 runs after Shivnarine Chanderpaul and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs had put on 114-runs for the sixth wicket to take their team beyond the 400-run mark.
Chanderpaul was dismissed for the first time in four innings for 58 while Jacobs followed up his century in the previous Test with an attacking 59. But India were off to a disastrous start with Dillon striking twin blows to leave India at 15 for two. Jaffer, who came into the match with two attractive half-centuries, was caught behind for a nought while the dependable Dravid, who has had a good run in this series, was done in by a delivery that kept low and trapped him leg before wicket.
Tendulkar and Das, two batsmen who haven't been able to do justice to their potential on this tour, played very positively yesterday and looked in good touch. Coming into the match with scores of 0, 0, 8 and 0, Tendulkar sent the first ball he faced to the mid-wicket boundary. In the same over from Dillon, he struck another four, this time to long-off, to start his innings on a promising note.
Das too was middling the ball well and hit two cracking boundaries through point on deliveries that were short and wide. India took tea at 34 for two with Das on 15 and Tendulkar on 14. The two batsmen continued to build on their partnership after the break and both looked attractive. They grew in confidence with every run scored and executed a few ambitious drives and pulls too.
But tragedy struck the Indians when Tendulkar dragged an Adam Sanford delivery on to his stumps while attempting a drive. Tendulkar fell for 41, made off 63 balls with the help of seven fours. Two runs later, Das was adjudged leg before wicket to Cameron Cuffy after making 33 with five boundaries. This was the third time in the series that Das fell in the thirties.
India, who appeared to be recovering after the initial setbacks, plunged into a deeper crisis. It was left to Ganguly and Laxman to stem the rot and they did the job with utmost concentration though they did survive a couple of anxious moments. Both Ganguly and Laxman scored mostly through boundaries and have so far added 55 runs for the fifth wicket.
Earlier, West Indies resumed at their overnight 287 for four and skipper Carl Hooper, the most prolific scorer in this series, was dismissed with the addition of just five runs to the total. Going for a hook against Javagal Srinath, Hooper changed his mind at the last moment but forgot to take his bat away from the line of the ball. A gentle tap resulted and Rahul Dravid moved swiftly from first slip to take an easy catch behind the wicketkeeper. Hooper, who has three centuries including a double hundred in this series, fell for 17, his first failure in the last five matches.
But Jacobs and Chanderpaul put paid to any hopes India might have entertained of restricting West Indies to a modest total. Jacobs played an aggressive knock, with seven fours and two sixes, as he tore apart the Indian attack with flamboyant hits. He was finally dismissed by Harbhajan, an inside edge crashing into the stumps.
That started a collapse with Harbhajan trapping Dillon leg before wicket for nought in his next over while Srinath had Chanderpaul caught by wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra. Adam Sanford (1) became the fifth victim of Harbhajan before Ashish Nehra brought an end to the innings by having Pedro Collins (12) caught by Laxman.
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