Hooper slams his first double ton

Twenty-six years ago to this day, India chased a record 406 for 4 to beat the West Indies in the third Test in Trinidad. It remains the highest fourth-innings total to win a Test.

Today, the Indians chased the leather in the field all day, allowing West Indies to amass 494 for 7, with skipper Carl Hooper (233) and Shivnaraine Chanderpaul (140) registering career-best scores.

Rain and bad light curtailed the second day's play of the first Test at the Bourda Oval in Georgetown, and the onus is now on the Indian batsmen to salvage some pride on a wicket, that is a batsmen’s heaven.

The Indians have, however, handed the initiative to the hosts with a pathetic display of bowling on the pretence that the wicket had nothing to offer. Sides with character face the music, even when they don’t enjoy the tune.

Morning session

The conditions were overcast, the new ball was due -- ideal conditions, you would say, for a bowling side. More so one that needed a quick strike or two, to prevent the batting team from consolidating on the position of day one.

Windies skipper Carl Hooper in particular looked ominous walking out on day two -- with a score of 222 against Leeward Islands a fortnight ago, followed by an unbeaten 149 against Jamaica last weekend, the enigmatic skipper was seemingly in the vein for tall scores. India's best chance to get rid of him had come on day one, before Hooper had scored -- but wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta had let that one go by. At the other end, Chanderpaul -- normally a sedate batsman of the innings building type, had looked in fluent touch.

Srinath , who bowled superbly on day one, began the second day with the second new ball, and a maiden -- but then began straying down leg side and provided easy pickings. Zaheer, who was guilty of wayward bowling on day one, changed his gears and this morning, bowled with more control.

In other words, it was the same story, with different characters -- this time, Zaheer kept it relatively tight, and Srinath erred. Chanderpaul cut Srinath to the fence to reach 3000 Test runs, and celebrated by rocking back to pull Zaheer in the next over.

Given that Zaheer was bowling better than yesterday, it was somewhat surprising that skipper Sourav Ganguly opted for Sanjay Bangar after just 8 overs had been bowled. Hooper taught Bangar a little lesson when the medium pacer dropped one short attempting to bounce -- the batsman responded by swiveling into a picture perfect hook.

At no point in the morning did any Indian bowler look like taking a wicket. Worse, all of them were guilty of serving up at least one four ball an over, permitting both not out batsmen to coast along at a crackling pace.

Ganguly, who had in December of last year led the protest against Nasser Hussain's defensive tactics, apparently decided that if he couldn't beat them he would join them. Thus, the plan was for eight fielders to pack the off side and for Bangar and the others to bowl outside of off -- a strategy that was obviously aimed at stemming the run flow. India, however, needed wickets while the Windies had all the time in the world to wait for the inevitable loose deliveries and take toll -- thus, the tactic proved self-defeating.

As the game slipped out of hand, the body language told the story. On the second morning of the first Test of a five-Test series, the shoulders were already sagging, the team huddled together in little groups engaged in frantic discussions, and on the whole, indicated that collectively, they didn't have a clue.

India's best chance of the morning came when Anil Kumble, coming on in the 20th over of the morning, induced a sharp edge from Chanderpaul, then 94. VVS Laxman, rated the best slipper in the squad, muffed the sharp chance, and the Guyanese batsman immediately flicked Kumble through midwicket to complete his third Test hundred. In the process, he became the first Guyanese batsman to record two hundreds at the Bourda Oval -- a fact he celebrated by kneeling to kiss the turf.

At the end of the session, Hooper was batting 147, Chanderpaul 106; the two had already put on 206 for the fifth wicket and, in the 25 overs bowled this morning, added 91 runs to the overnight total. So much for Ganguly's "run-denying tactics" that are, increasingly, raising eyebrows around the ground and around the world.

At the end of the first session, the West Indies on 361/4 are poised to achieve their objective of batting just once in the Test. If the Indians, on the other hand, have an objective, no one knows what that is.

Post Lunch session:

Anil Kumble, wicketless for 26 overs in the innings till that point, bowled the first over after lunch. Carl Hooper pushed the second ball of the over to the extra cover fence. And that pretty much tells the story right there.

Two overs into the session, Chanderpaul called for the physio, complaining of dizzyness. Given how he had till then punished the bowling, and how he continued to cream them after this interlude, the Indian fielders and bowlers will wonder what he will be like when he is fully fit.

The first hour after lunch would have delighted the statisticians -- who, after they got done counting the number of Indian fans tearing their hair out at yet another lackluster display by their team, could enjoy recording the Hooper pull off Kumble that helped the batsman equal his highest Test score till date (178); they could then record Chanderpaul crossing his own personal best (137) which, incidentally, was also recorded against India, when the team toured here last. In the process, the duo also set up a new fifth-wicket partnership record against India.

The Indians looked resigned to the inevitable, and were content to go through the motions. Typically, when the edge goes off your game, mistakes proliferate. One such saw Chanderpaul survive a run out chance -- Hooper played Tendulkar do mid on, the bowler tried to stop the ball and bumped into Chanderpaul, but the batsman still managed to beat Ganguly's throw to the keeper.

Zaheer, for once bowling an outstanding spell, finally trapped Chanderpaul in front, ending a 290 ball (370 minute) innings of 140 that had taken the West Indies to 450/5. The partnership had been worth 293 runs.

Carl Hooper, then batting 199, promptly stepped out to the first ball of the next over, from Sarandeep, and crashed the ball into the midwicket fence for the four that brought up the first double hundred of his 15-year career. The landmark came off just 356 deliveries, and was laced with 27 fours besides a six. And for those still keeping track of records, this was only the third double hundred at the Bourda, coming 30 years after Glenn Turner scored one for New Zealand.

The innings was a classic, and underscored why Hooper can at one and the same time both delight and frustrate. Despite Ganguly's famous 8-1 off theory, despite occasional spells of good bowling, despite his own notoriously suspect temperament, despite a scratchy start and a life before he had scored, Hooper's innings was highlighted by a perfect wagon wheel, with shots all round the wicket -- all of them perfectly timed and executed with the grace and class that is a Hooper trademark.

While on the run-saving 8-1 theory that is the new brainchild of the team management, it pays to keep in mind that 148 runs of the 293 scored for the fifth wicket came on the off side.

Zaheer, bowling well, was unlucky to get Junior Murray bang in front in the over immediately following Chanderpaul's dismissal, only for umpire Asoka D'Silva to disagree with the appeal.

Tea was taken with the Windies on 454/5 and well in control. The post-tea game plan seems simple enough -- the Indians fetch the ball, the Windies continue to pile it up looking to bat on till about a half hour before close.

Post Tea session

Zaheer, on the rampage with the ball, got one back to trap 'keeper Junior Murray plumb in front for a duck and leave the West Indies at 454-6.

Smelling a chance to finish the West Indian innings off, Ganguly employed Kumble from the other end. Left-handed Mahendra Nagamootoo pulled Srinath with assurance to the fence even as Hooper devoured into the Indian bowling attack. Deep Dasgupta further contributed to the woes, grassing yet another catch off Nagamootoo, who edged a slower ball from Srinath. Dasgupta, keeping wickets for all the five Tests, could well be a crucial factor in the series.

Hooper's magnum opus of 233 finally ended when he tried repeating a consecutive six with Kumble giving the ball more air. Sarandeep Singh gobbled up an excellent catch from the square leg fence.

Mervyn Dillon joined Nagamootoo at the crease before rain and bad light together stopped the day's proceedings with close to 21 of the 90 overs yet to be bowled.

Hooper, having understood that he would be unable to have a go at the Indians this evening, carried on batting and increased the total to intimidate the Indian batting.

The game starts 30 minutes earlier on the third day to make up for today's lost time.

Day 1 report

Detailed scorecard