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 Speedster Zaheer Khan and leg-spinner Anil Kumble ran through the West Indian batting line-up on the third day of the first cricket Test here today, forcing the visitors to follow-on and placing India in a great position to push for victory. Zaheer and Kumble picked up four wickets each to bowl out West Indies for 157 in their first innings, exactly 300 runs behind India’s 457. Zaheer Khan’s four for 41 was his career-best haul while Kumble’s four wickets cost 51 runs.
Forced to follow-on, West Indies did much better in their second innings, scoring 91 for one in the 27 remaining overs of the day. Wavell Hinds was the only batsman to be dismissed in the second innings when he was bowled around his legs by Harbhajan Singh after scoring 40 off 34 balls with nine boundaries.
But the first innings was a disaster for the West Indies, with only Shivnarine Chanderpaul able to come up with a decent score. Chanderpaul made 54 before being out as the last man. West Indies, who resumed at their overnight 33 for two, collapsed in a heap once their skipper Carl Hooper was dismissed for 23 by Zaheer Khan. Hooper, playing in his 100th Test, had tried to resurrect the West Indian innings in the fifth wicket partnership with Chanderpaul but that yielded just 44 runs.
Zaheer then claimed two wickets in successive overs to reduce the visitors to 123 for seven before Kumble wiped out the tail. Kumble had also given India the first wicket of the day when he trapped Ramnaresh Sarwan leg before wicket. West Indies had been able to add just ten runs in the morning when Sarwan fell for 22. Then Javagal Srinath claimed his first wicket after returning to Test cricket from a brief retirement. Srinath clean bowled nightwatchman Mervyn Dillon for 22 to leave West Indies struggling at 59 for two.
West Indies took lunch at 91 for four with Chanderpaul and Hooper putting up a defiant act. Their resistance was brought to an end by Zaheer Khan immediately after the break when the left-arm seamer had Hooper caught by Sanjay Bangar. Zaheer, who generated a good pace, then cleaned up Ryan Hinds and Ridley Jacobs in two successive overs.
But even as wickets continued to tumble from one end, Chanderpaul kept on his defiance from the other, frustrating all attempts of the Indians to get him out. The left-hander, who had been a thorn in the flesh for the Indians during the home series earlier this year, once again put up a stubborn resistance and was unbeaten on 47 when West Indies took tea at 145 for eight. Kumble, who had claimed his second wicket by dismissing Mahendra Nagamootoo just before the tea break, finally got rid of Chanderpaul but not before the batsman had completed his 28th half-century.
 He first trapped Pedro Collins leg before wicket and then caught Chanderpaul off his own bowling to bring an end to a nearly four-hour knock. Having taken a massive lead, the Indians had no hesitation in asking the West Indies to bat for the second time but there was surprise in store for them. The West Indies second innings began in a totally contrasting style with the big-hitting Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle flaying the Indian attack. Hinds traded in boundaries for most part of his innings and hit the hard-working Sanjay Bangar for three fours in his first over. They scored at more than five runs an over for the first ten overs before Harbhajan provided the breakthrough.
Harbhajan hit the leg-stump of Hinds with a straighter delivery, West Indies losing their first wicket on 60. Sarwan and Gayle then negotiated the 14 overs with caution, taking the score to 91 for one at the end of the day. Sarwan was batting on nine while Gayle had scored 34. West Indies need another 209 runs to avoid an innings defeat in this first of three-match Test series.
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