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| June 05, 2006 | Monday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1427 |
West Indies obtain decisive advantage in opening Test
ST JOHN'S (Antigua), June 4: West Indies extended their first innings total to 371 on Sunday to take a 130-run lead over India on the third day of the first Test. At lunch India were 16 without loss in their second innings.
Paceman Munaf Patel took three for 80 and leg-spinner Anil Kumble captured three for 86 after West Indies had resumed at 318 for six.
Ian Bradshaw and Denesh Ramdin kept the Indian bowlers at bay until the fifth over of the day's play when Patel had Ramdin caught behind by wicket-keeper Mahendra Dhoni for 26 with a classy away swinger.
Pace bowler Vikram Singh took his first Test wicket by forcing Bradshaw to send a bouncer looping off the shoulder of his bat and into the hands of Yuvraj Singh at point.
Number eight batsman Bradshaw had hit six fours in his disciplined 33.
Vikram Singh struck again four overs later when Fidel Edwards fended another short delivery to Dhoni and was out for four.
The innings ended three balls later when Kumble trapped Corey Collymore in front with a googly for a first ball duck.
India faced four overs in their second innings before lunch, which arrived with Wasim Jaffer on one and Virender Sehwag on 14.
The habitually aggressive Sehwag cut the fifth ball he faced, from pace bowler Collymore, through gully for four.
Sehwag launched the last ball of the third over, bowled by fast bowler Edwards, over backward point for six with an audacious slashed cut.
Half-centuries by Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo dominated West Indies’s innings on the second day on Saturday.
The aggressive Gayle seemed certain to reach a century before falling for 72, a breathtaking innings off 91 balls with 13 fours and a six.
Sarwan showed more patience for his 58, which came off 110 balls.
Bravo's approach fell in between those of Gayle and Sarwan, and his 68 topl 92 balls and contained 11 fours.
Gayle and Sarwan shared 119 in a rollicking stand for the second wicket which was ended an hour after lunch when Gayle played a rare defensive stroke to a delivery from Kumble and nudged a catch to Rahul Dravid at slip.
There was raucous celebration by the Indians five overs later after Brian Lara, who scored a quick 18, drove loosely at a ball from Patel and was caught by Yuvraj Singh at point.
That reduced the West Indies to 159 for three, but Sarwan and the even more circumspect Shivnarine Chanderpaul successfully negotiated the eight overs that remained before tea.
However, they were separated with the first ball of the third session, a faster delivery from Kumble that trapped Sarwan in front.
Chanderpaul and Bravo consolidated in a fifth-wicket partnership that reached 73 before Chanderpaul attempted to cut a delivery from part-time off-spinner Virender Sehwag and was caught behind off the bottom edge by Dhoni for 24.
Sehwag took his second wicket four overs later when Bravo lunged forward to drive at a delivery that turned and nipped through the gate on its way to Dhoni, who whipped off the bails smartly to complete the stumping.
Scoreboard
INDIA (1st Innings) 241.
WEST INDIES (1st Innings, overnight 318-6):
C.H. Gayle c Dravid b Kumble 72
D. Ganga lbw b Patel 9
R.R. Sarwan lbw b Kumble 58
B.C. Lara c Yuvraj b Patel 18
S. Chanderpaul c Dhoni b Sehwag 24
D.J.J. Bravo st Dhoni b Sehwag 68
D. Ramdin c Dhoni b Patel 26
I.D.R. Bradshaw c Yuvraj b V. Singh 33
D. Mohammed not out 19
F.H. Edwards c Dhoni b V. Singh 4
C.D. Collymore lbw b Kumble 0
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-14, W-2, NB-22) 40
TOTAL (all out, 98.3 overs) 371
FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-137, 3-159, 4-182, 5-255, 6-282, 7-331, 8-359, 9-370.
BOWLING: Sreesanth 16-1-96-0 (1nb, 2w); Patel 28-7-80-3 (6nb); V. Singh 15-1-61-2 (8nb); Kumble 27.3-6-86-3 (5nb); Sehwag 12-2-32-2 (2nb).
INDIA (2nd Innings):
Wasim Jaffer not out 1
V. Sehwag not out 14
EXTRAS (LB-1) 1
TOTAL (for no wkt, 4 overs) 16
BOWLING (to-date): Edwards 2-1-6-0; Collymore 2-0-9-0.—Agencies
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