A match that started with an explosive innings from Virender Sehwag fizzled out with a damp squib of an ending as the second test at St. Lucia ended in a draw.

After winning the toss once again Rahul Dravid showed no hesitation in batting on a wicket covered with uneven patches of green. There were concerns over the movement that Brian Lara’s quintet of seamers could generate but, by the first hour of play, the West Indians had been bludgeoned into a defensive mindset.

Sehwag began characteristically, mixing controlled aggression with the occasional leave or straight bat defensive shot, complemented by Jaffer’s watchfulness at the other end. The floodgates opened with Dwayne Bravo’s introduction to the attack. A single from Jaffer in Bravo’s second over gave the strike to Sehwag, who promptly bludgeoned Bravo for a six over cover, following up with two fours and another cleanly struck six over long on.

With the West Indies opting for damage control, Sehwag motored along from there, reaching 99 not out by lunch, before eventually falling to Pedro Collins for 180 late in the day. Collins had been the sole standout in the West Indian bowling attack, removing Jaffer and Laxman earlier in the innings. He then followed with Yuvraj’s wicket soon after to pull things back before stumps.

India began the second day at 361/4 and, much like they had done on the first day, seized the game in the opening session. Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif were not afraid to play strokes or sprint quick singles between the wickets, and the hosts found themselves bleeding runs at a fair clip. Only Dravid’s dismissal, a loose shot to an atrocious, wide long hop from Sarwan, pulled things back, but Kaif continued on.

Kaif has been lambasted by many for his poor record of converting starts to big scores in first class cricket - his century in the Ranji Trophy final earlier in the year was his first in over three years, but he chose this moment to silence his critics. His was a solid and sensible innings, as he eschewed extravagant strokeplay and simply ground the West Indian bowling down, reaching a career best 148* by the time Dravid declared, leaving the West Indians the better part of a session to bat.

A sedate start from the West Indian openers in the evening suddenly fell apart as Munaf Patel broke through, removing Daren Ganga and Ramnaresh Sarwan with consecutive deliveries that seamed into the batsmen and trapped both men LBW. With the West Indians playing for the close of play, Kumble delivered an even more crushing blow when he trapped Lara LBW, leaving the West Indians three down at stumps.

India only had to work for an hour the following morning before making another breakthrough, as Gayle and then Chanderpaul fell in quick succession. Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin battled gamely for almost two hours, before wickets began to fall regularly. Bravo edged Kumble to slip, Ramdin was caught behind soon after, and Virender Sehwag snuffed out the tail, ending with a superb return catch to remove Ian Bradshaw as the West Indians were bowled out for 215. The follow on seemed an obvious decision and Dravid sent the West Indian openers back in. Gayle fell immediately to the new ball, but Brian Lara promoted himself to three and, with Daren Ganga, saw the home side through to stumps without further damage.

Day four began with a concerning sight for Indian fans - covers over the ground with rain pouring down. Things barely improved in the day; showers came and went with enough frequency to wash out the day’s play and India were left ruing the loss of ninety overs. An early start was scheduled for the next morning, and with the rain staying away, India promptly made up for lost time.

Anil Kumble began with a probing line and length, and after a couple of close LBW shouts, Daren Ganga eventually left one ball too many and found himself bowled. Ramnaresh Sarwan only lasted ten balls before edging Munaf Patel behind, and with India needing seven wickets in the day victory still seemed a very real possibility.

Shiv Chanderpaul though has been a regular thorn in Indian bowlers’ sides, and he set about combating Kumble’s threat with some assured strokeplay, while Brian Lara remained uncharacteristically restrained at the other end. For almost three hours the left handed pair set about wearing down the Indian bowling with dead bats, and Kumble began to flag, losing his earlier accuracy and sending down a handful of loose deliveries. Ironically, it was one of these that made the breakthrough as Chanderpaul swiped at a full toss, but ended up sending a skier to mid on where Pathan held on.

Lara was joined by Bravo, who showed the same tenacity in fighting off the Indian bowling. As the final hour approached, Lara’s vigil at the crease eventually ended, courtesy of a duff call by Asad Rauf. It was Lara’s 32nd test hundred and certainly his most unremarkable. For several hours he had restrained himself from playing his favourite shots, instead focusing his energies on keeping out Kumble and Sehwag on a drying wicket.

Lara’s wicket seemed to have come too late for India, but Kumble continued to wheel his arm over, hoping to prise out a couple more to reignite hopes of an Indian win. Bravo fell soon after, but Ramdin held out until the close of play, as the West Indies‘ tail provided enough support to save the game. It was déjà vu; heartbreak all over again with India again falling agonisingly short of going one-up in the series.

(Salil Benegal is based between Chicago and Singapore, and switches between studying chemistry and freelancing (or trying to) in cricket and travel writing. A strong fan of both the Indian and Australian cricket teams, Salil also maintains a cricket-centric blog at http://www.sbenegal.blogspot.com/)

{mosimage}

({mhauthor})

Also by

• Consultation Freeze - September 4th, 2006
• Need for Speed - August 28th, 2006
• Meals on wheels - August 14th, 2006
• Whither tomorrow - August 7th, 2006
• Bombay Dreams - August 7th, 2006

Share This