Fourth Test: India versus West Indies, Antigua

Solid Windies batting frustrates India

Day Four

Deadly Boring. Two words that epitomize the fourth day's play at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Monday.

Carl Hooper reached his 13th Test century and Shivnaraine Chanderpaul motored towards his third century of the series as the West Indies averted the follow-on and ended the day on 405 for 5, 108 runs in arrears of the India's first innings total.

Morning session

The West Indies resumed this morning on 187 for 3, with Hooper batting on 26 and Sarwan batting on 50. And with Anil Kumble on the plane back home to India, they seemed to play out the rest of the day without much trouble.

Overnight batsman Carl Hooper stroked easily from the first ball of the fourth morning, dispatching Zaheer Khan, who started the day's proceedings, twice to the third-man fence.

In the third over of the morning, Sarwan, as he has through the series, threw his wicket away after having registering his 12th Test fifty the previous evening. Zaheer Khan trapped the 21-year-old Guyanese batsman, trying to play across the line, plumb in front. Sarwan, yet to record a Test hundred, returned to the pavilion for 51 and the West Indies at 196 for 4 seemed in danger of following-on with only Shivnaraine Chanderpaul to follow.

With the new ball a couple of overs away, Hooper upped a gear and went after Tendulkar, smashing him over the extra cover fence for a six. A pushed single to mid-off got Carl Hooper to yet another half-century in the series and increased the odds of him winning the man-of-the-series award.

The Hooper-Chanderpaul puzzle still baffled the Indian bowlers as they settled down to record yet another mammoth partnership. With a couple of double-hundred partnerships already in the series, the Indians were in for a long day's work with the duo middling the ball with absolute ease. Hooper, in particular, was majestic with the pull-shots, reading the length early and getting into position to execute the shot.

Chanderpaul, realising there was nothing at all in the wicket, and with the bowlers running out of steam, began stroking with confidence and seemed set for yet another huge score. The duo reached the fifty-run partnership in 86 balls as they embarked upon the challenge of batting another five sessions to save the Test.

The Indian bowlers, for their part, did little wrong but with the absence of Kumble and the docile nature of the wicket were unable to penetrate despite taking the new ball as the session headed for lunch.

48 runs away from avoiding the follow-on, the West Indies went into lunch at 266 for 4.

Ganguly would do well to employ the services of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid with their off-cutters to ease the load on the seamers, already overburdened by the absence of Anil Kumble.

Post Lunch session:

The West Indies seemed in charge when they went into lunch, but things changed after the interval. The Indian think-tank had a re-look at their strategy and decided to dry up the runs and wait for the inevitable blunder from the batsmen.

Srinath and Zaheer kept a watertight line and length, bowling consecutive maidens to keep the Hooper-Chanderpaul juggernaut from running away with the game. A paltry five runs came in the eight overs bowled after lunch. Chanderpaul then cut Zaheer past point for a boundary to break through the shackles and score the first run in 32 deliveries.

The music was playing and the salty air blew across the Antigua Recreation Ground cheering the elusive boundary. Nine runs came in the ten overs bowled after the lunch interval.

Hooper released the pressure off the innings, crashing Zaheer through the covers for a boundary to run into the 80s. Chanderpaul, in contrast, was edgy and unsure after the break, flashing occasionally at deliveries outside the off-stump.

Hooper, who survived on several occasions on day three, rode his luck again when Ganguly dropped a regulation return catch of his own bowling with the score reading 294 for 4.

Hooper drove Nehra through the covers to bring up the third 100-run partnership of the series with Chanderpaul. The Hooper-Chanderpaul partnership had been the backbone of the host team's good performance in the series. Hooper then sent Ganguly's first delivery over the long-on fence for a six and motored into the 90s. Two balls later, a straight-drive down to long-off fence brought up his third century of the series. The 13th ton of his Test career was scored in 199 balls. It was laced with 10 fours and a couple of sixes.

Ganguly, sensing the need to achieve the elusive breakthrough, employed Zaheer to bowl left-arm tweakers but with little success as Chanderpaul seized a full-toss right back past the bowler to avoid the follow-on. (315-4)

The Guyanese southpaw cut Tendulkar past point to race to another half-century, off 158 balls. Even as the Indians had given up all thoughts of winning the game, Hooper tore into the Indian attack, clobbering Tendulkar for another six as the West Indies went into tea at 340 for 4.

The hosts trailed India by 173 runs, with six first innings wickets still in hand and another four sessions to draw the match.

Post Tea session:

Hooper played one superb off-drive off Zaheer, and Chanderpaul worked Srinath down to third man. Tendulkar then went around the wicket and did an Ashley Giles, bowling wide outside the leg-stump. Hooper, in a rush of blood, stepped out to Tendulkar and only managed a top-edge as the ball swerved up for point fielder Ashish Nehra to take a simple catch.

The 186-run partnership between Hooper and Chanderpaul was finally curtailed as the skipper walked back to the pavilion after a marathon 278-ball innings of 136 runs. Having scored 500 runs in the series, laced with three hundreds, the Hooper has finally translated his potential into performance in his second coming into the game after his premature retirement a couple of seasons ago.

Wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs joined Chanderpaul, looking to reach his third century of the series. With an exaggerated back-lift, the left-handed Jacobs slapped a huge six over mid-wicket off Tendulkar for the host team to cross the 400-run mark.

With a draw looking the inevitable result of the Test, Chanderpaul shut shop with five overs to go and at stumps was unbeaten on 80 runs, off 268 deliveries.

As for the Indian bowlers, one could only pity their plight on a featherbed of a wicket. And yet the pace-attack deserves a round of applause for bowling with all their heart in an encounter with little possibility of a result. Tendulkar, having bowled the longest spells of his Test career thus far, was the most successful bowler besides Zaheer Khan, claiming the wicket of man-in-form Carl Hooper.

Common sense would have been to bowl VVS Laxman and try out the bowling abilities of Wasim Jaffer, who, contrary to popular belief, does turn his arm over occasionally, instead of burdening the pace bowlers who have another crucial Test and five match one-day series to get through before the tour is over.

Indictment of the wicket can be further argued with a mere 14 wickets falling in four full days of cricket. The final session of play, which saw 35 overs being bowled, yielded a mere 65 runs.

Another boring day of Test cricket awaits tomorrow with the West Indies trailing by 108 runs with five wickets in hand.

Scoreboard

Day 3
Day 2
Day1