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 Indian bowlers came up against unexpected resistance from West Indies as the tourists improved their batting performance several notches to reach 186 for four in their second innings on the third day of the second cricket Test here today. For a team that failed to cross the 200-run mark in all three previous innings on this tour, West Indies did well to wipe out the 149-run deficit and go 37 runs ahead of the Indian first innings score of 316. West Indies looked headed for another low score when Javagal Srinath dismissed opener Chris Gayle with the fourth ball of the innings without a single run being scored to raise the prospects of another innings victory for India.
But Ramnaresh Sarwan batted with tremendous determination in two fine partnerships with Wavell Hinds and skipper Carl Hooper to nullify that danger. Sarwan was batting on 62, his 14th Test half-century, at stumps on the third day in the company of Ryan Hinds on one. Wavell Hinds made a breezy 61 while Hooper scored an attacking 46 that marked the resurgence of West Indian batting. Earlier, the Indian tail-enders put up a fine display and added 136 runs for the last five wickets after the home team resumed at their overnight score of 190 for five.
 Harbhajan Singh and Srinath produced cameo knocks of 36 and 39 respectively, while wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel chipped in with useful 23 runs. What was really impressive about the West Indian batting today was the way they negotiated the two spinners - Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh who have done the bulk of the damage to the visitors in this series so far. With the pitch offering uneven bounce and turn, and West Indies having lost Gayle in the first over, skipper Sourav Ganguly went for the kill and introduced Harbhajan Singh after only six overs even though Srinath was bowling well. After two overs, Kumble was also brought into the attack to get the maximum advantage.
But far from being bogged down, Wavell Hinds decided to take on the spinners head-on while Sarwan dropped anchor at the other end. Hinds cut and drove with a lot of ease as he stepped up the scoring at the cost of Harbhajan and Kumble who found themselves at the receiving end for the first time in this series. Kumble was taken for 32 runs from his first six overs while Harbhajan Singh conceded 28 from seven. So much so that Ganguly had to take them out of the attack and bring back Srinath and Zaheer Khan just before tea.  At tea, West Indies were comfortably placed at 90 for one with the fear of an innings defeat almost gone. Wavell Hinds had already raised his ninth half-century, second against India, and was batting on 55 while Sarwan was on 29. The Indians fell back on spin after the break and Harbhajan Singh produced almost instant results when he had Wavell Hinds caught by Ganguly. The 96-run second wicket partnership was the best for West Indies at this venue improving on the 80 by J B Stollmeyer and Clive Walcott in 1948-49.
Scorecard
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