Sports India

Dismissed for 200 on the opening day of the fourth Test, India struck back strongly on the second morning here at Sabina Park. Sreesanth uprooted the dangerous Chris Gayle’s off-peg in the first over as the left-hander played inside the line. Nought for one.

The first runs on Saturday came in the fourth over when Daren Ganga edged Munaf Patel at catchable height between second and third slip. Brian Lara, who walked out at three in place of the injured Sarwan, pulled, cover-drove, and glanced Sreesanth, whose radar seemed to lose calibration.

On Friday, Rahul Dravid kept India in the game with an innings that commingled great mental control and the highest levels of defensive play. Having decided to bat, the right move considering his team’s composition, the skipper saw his openers dismissed in the first 20 minutes.

“The wicket was challenging to bat on,” said Dravid. “The ball stopped and came on, and in the morning it seamed around a bit. We expected to play out that juice in the wicket. The idea (behind batting first) was to get them batting fourth against two quality spinners.”

Uneven bounce

There was enough surface moisture and uneven bounce to make life difficult. Dravid and Laxman played out the period till lunch with utmost caution. Runs came at under one an over — the West Indies bowlers bowled excellent lines to deny India’s batsmen room.

With neither the quickest between wickets, the sharp single — a lifeline on such a track — never made an appearance. India made 29 off 29 overs in the first session: as tough as the track was, and as disciplined as the bowling was, India should have turned over the strike better, and scored at least 25 more.

“I think we did well to bat out till lunch,” said Dravid. “The key was to get through the new ball. Unfortunately we lost Laxman immediately after the break.” The 31-year-old played a slack stroke outside off to be held at gully; the painstakingly put-together foundation was ruined. Yuvraj Singh began to strike it sweet — no little achievement considering everyone else struggled with timing.

A critical juncture had arrived: Yuvraj needed to stay with his skipper to ensure a score of near 300 — a total that would give India early control. But, Jerome Taylor, much like he had in the third Test, removed both Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif.

Middle-order collapse

The 22-year-old quick did the duo in with the two-card trick; except, he needed only a card for each. A sharp yorker beat Yuvraj’s lofty back-lift and hit shoe, as the left-hander limped off. Kaif was given a bouncer that lifted.

“I think we lost a wicket too many in the middle order,” said Dravid. “A couple of partnerships would have helped us get to 250-260 which is a good score on this wicket.”

Dhoni slashed fatally, to leave India at 91 for six. Anil Kumble, who averages over 25 in his last ten Tests, made his second successive forty to give his skipper crucial support, putting on 93 in 29.2 overs for the seventh wicket, and falling two deliveries before the second new ball was due. The innings drew high praise from Dravid.

The Indian captain, who thrillingly pulled Taylor twice before lunch, flipped and off-drove in the five-and-a-half hour knock marked by the soft-handed defensive stroke.

“It’s not a score we’ll be happy with, but we fought back well from 92 for six,” said Dravid. “It’s a fighting score. This innings gave me great satisfaction because it was one of the most challenging purely from a batting point of view.”

Taylor cleaned up the tail to finish with his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.