First Test heading for a draw
Faisal Shariff
Day Four
Even a thump on the face failed to stop vice-captain Rahul Dravid from reaching his tenth Test century, which helped India avert the mercy-rule on the fourth day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Bourda Oval, Georgetown.
The Indian riposte, halted by showers on the fourth afternoon at 395 for 7, was still 106 runs short of the host team’s first innings score.
The dominating afternoon session drove home the point to the Windies that the Indian outfit, despite its unsettled line-up, is capable of clawing back from any position. An eighth-wicket record stand of 120 runs between Dravid, unbeaten on 144, and Sarandeep Singh, unbeaten on 39, showed character in the lower-order.
Morning session
India went into lunch at 345-7, with centurion Dravid and Sarandeep Singh involved in a 70-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
VVS Laxman reached his half-century with a silken cover-drive to the fence off Mervyn Dillon. With a cut through backward-point, the Hyderabadi looked in ominous touch, ready for a long partnership with Dravid.
Dravid suffered a vicious blow on the side of his grill from Dillon when he turned his eyes away from the delivery, failing to sway away from the line of the ball. Shaken by the jolt to his jaw, he was attended to by physio Leipus and with some icing was soon ready to take strike again.
Cameron Cuffy got West Indies the breakthrough when he had Laxman edging one to first slip, while playing away from the body. Laxman (69), like Tendulkar, did all the hard work but failed to convert his effort into three figures. While replying to a score of 500, it's important that at least two batsmen get huge hundreds after the openers fail to get the desired start. At 263-4, 39 runs adrift from avoiding the follow-on, India was pushed on the back-foot.
All-rounder Sanjay Bangar walked in and was trapped in front by Cameron Cuffy -- his second wicket of the morning -- for a duck, with one that nipped in after pitching outside off stump. (270-6)
Dravid, running out of partners, began scoring briskly, chasing the survival figure of 302 to avert the follow-on.
Anil Kumble, after scratching around for a bit, played a flamboyant cut away from his body to give Sanford his second wicket; Nagamootoo at point took a sharp catch. (275-7)
Sarandeep Singh joined Dravid at the crease and the duo set about scoring the 27 runs required to avoid batting again.
After a few hiccups, including a catch missed by Sarwan off Sarandeep at short-leg Dravid leaned into Dillon and drove through mid-off for a boundary to avert the mercy-rule. Scoring at almost four an over, the duo displayed steel-willed determination to fightback and reduce the lead margin.
Sarandeep, riding on a recent 94 in a domestic game in India, played with a defiant confidence despite not enjoying the skipper’s faith.
Meanwhile, Dravid, finding the fence with alarming ease, raced to his tenth Test century -- the sixth outside India --flicking Sanford off his pads. The Indian vice-captain accomplished what he had failed to do five years ago at the same venue when he was dismissed for 92.
After scoring half-centuries in all Tests except the fourth on the last tour in 1997, Dravid fought back with rare certitude and salvaged his team’s pride.
At lunch, India were 345 with three wickets standing. Dravid was on 107, sharing a 70- run partnership for the eighth wicket with Sarandeep Singh (27).
The match, now looking set for a draw, could well turn on its head if the hosts knock over the last three wickets, pile up quick runs and leave India to bat last on a wicket where the ball is consistently keeping low.
Post Lunch session:
The West Indies failed to clean up the Indian innings within the first hour of play in the post-lunch session and a draw seemed the only conclusion to the first Test.
Dravid, guiding Cameron Cuffy off successive deliveries to the third-man fence in the first over after lunch -- and barring a checked drive through the offside which missed Nagamootoo at cover -- had the Calypso attack on the mat.
After an overcautious start yesterday, he played with a renewed approach, looking for runs all the time and calculating risk with caution.
In an earlier interview with rediff, Dravid had explained that at times the runs don't matter; wearing down the opponents before stinging them is vital.
"I bat time. That is what Test cricket is all about, all said and done! It is all about how long you can keep the opposition in the park and back yourself," he argued.
After an indelible knock of 144, Dravid had stamped his authority as the most consistent Indian batsman overseas along with Sachin Tendulkar, thus arguing the need to return the number three position as quickly to him – at least overseas.
On his last tour of the Caribbean, he had outshone all the other Indian batsmen, including Tendulkar, with 360 runs and an average of 72.
Though the hosts pegged back the scoring rate after lunch, unimaginative captaincy by Hooper let the Dravid-Sarandeep Singh combine reach a record 120-run partnership. Sarandeep (39) was not bounced even once by any of the Windies bowlers as he played with resilient purpose, summoning all his concentration to share a decisive alliance with Dravid, which broke the 19-year old record for the eighth-wicket partnership against the West Indies.
The previous best eighth wicket partnership for India against the West Indies had been of 107, between Yashpal Sharma and Balwinder Singh Sandhu, at Kingston in 1983.
The shining recovery by India, however, failed to influence the greying skies as showers soaked the Bourda Oval forcing play to end abruptly with 52 overs yet to be bowled in the day.
Day 1 report
Day 2 report
Day 3 report
Detailed scorecard
