Fifth Test: India versus West Indies, Jamaica

Windies complete the formalities

Day Five

It took all of 51 deliveries on a rain-delayed fifth morning on Wednesday for the West Indies to win the fifth Test by 155 runs and claim the five-Test series 2-1, at Sabina Park.

After being a Test down in the series, having lost the second Test at Port-of-Spain, the Windies managed to win the third Test at Barbados and the deciding fifth Test in Jamaica to pull off an inspiring series triumph, the first at home since Carl Hooper took over as skipper.

Morning session:

Ajay Ratra was the first wicket to fall, when Cameron Cuffy rapped him on the pads with a delivery that nipped back after pitching outside off. It looked a tough decision on Ratra, with the trajectory of the ball looking set to miss leg-stump.

Javagal Srinath walked in, giving the impression, as he has all through the series, that it is not his job to bat at all. Minutes later, Cuffy bowled another in-cutter that rattled his timber, leaving the West Indies one wicket away from a series win.

Only minutes later, his ignominy deepened when skipper Sourav Ganguly applauded only Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra for their hard work at the prize distribution ceremony.

Zaheer relieved the West Indies, skiing Mervyn Dillon to mid-off and Pedro Collins pocketed an easy catch for Sabina Park to burst into celebration.

And the words of former Australia coach Bobby Simpson, who spoke to rediff.com the previous morning, reverberated.

"India's greatest bane is the talent they possess," remarked Simpson, commenting on Indian cricket.

Another possible series win had metamorphosed into a humiliating defeat against a team struggling to regain their lost cricketing glory.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Scoreboard