Sports India

The bowlers have had a good time on the Sabina Park wicket, but this has been Rahul Dravid’s test match so far.

Buoyed by their captain’s gritty 62 followed by a crucial 81 in the first innings, India were 225 runs ahead of West Indies in their second dig after dismissing the hosts for 103 in the first innings yesterday.

India were 128 for 6 when stumps were drawn. Giving Dravid company at the crease was Anil Kumble.

Jerome Taylor hit back with three wickets for West Indies after Harbhajan Singh collected five wickets for the 19th time in test cricket.

Taylor removed openers Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag in a pacy opening burst and then later cleaned up MS Dhoni.

Dravid and VVS Laxman took the onus on them after India crumbled to six runs for two wickets inside the first half hour.

Taylor had Jaffer spectacularly caught at third slip for one when the batsman edged a drive and substitute fielder Runako Morton held the catch with his right-hand, and then gained an lbw verdict over Sehwag, who scored four. Taylor has so far taken three wickets for 28 runs from 10 overs.

Harbhajan’s high-five

Earlier, Harbhajan snared five wickets for 13 runs from just 4.3 overs, as India fought their way back into the test and dismissed West Indies for 103, replying to the visitors’ first innings total of 200.

It was West Indies’ lowest total in a test against India. Harbhajan collected four of the last five West Indies scalps that went down after the home team resumed after the interval on 80 for five.

Harbhajan removed Dwayne Bravo for zero, Ramnaresh Sarwan for seven, and Denesh Ramdin for 10 to close-to-the-wicket catches, then wrapped up the innings when Pedro Collins lofted a delivery to long-on and was caught for zero.

In between, Taylor was run out for six, after he and Collins completely muddled a single. Before lunch, disciplined bowling and their opponents’ typically careless batting had provided India with the window of opportunity.

The Punjab off-spinner completed a sensational morning for the Indians, when he had Daren Ganga adjudged lbw in the final over before the interval for the top score in the West Indies innings of 40 playing back and across to a delivery that spun sharply from outside the off-stump.

Fast bowler Shantha Sreesanth supported with two wickets (including West

Indies captain Brian Lara) for 34 runs from nine overs.

Sreesanth inflicted the early blows, when left-handed opener Chris Gayle played down the wrong line to the fourth delivery of the day and was comprehensively beaten and bowled for a four-ball duck. Lara survived an lbw appeal off the second ball, but he got off the mark with a crunching pull through mid wicket for four.