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Craig HillWest Indies hold on after another thriller with In
June 7th 2006 09:08
Home side, the West Indies have managed to salvage a thrilling draw in their first test against visitors, India. The match took many turns as the favour of victory tossed from side to side, due to some tremendous batting by both sides. India was to first bat, but only managed to post an ordinary total thanks to some tight bowling by Dwyane Bravo and Corey Collymore who both finished with figures of 4/40 and 3/27 respectively, whilst both managing to stay under 2 runs per over. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was the only to make a decent start, top scoring for his side with a snail pace 49 (from 173 balls) after being caught by opposing captain Lara off the tidy bowling of Collymore.
The Windies' return effort with the bat was more credible as they notched up a very modest 371 in reply to India's first dig. Starring with the bat was gun batsman Chris Gayle who notched up a reserved 72 from 91balls; Dwayne Bravo with 68; and Ramnaresh Sarwan chipping in with a handy 58. Veteran spinner Anil Kumble (3/86) and paceman Patel (3/80) were the pick of the bowlers both sharing 3 wickets a piece.
Needing a much better batting performance in the second innings in order to remain in the match, the Indians delivered what seemed to be a knock out blow, as they managed to reach a mammoth total of 521. Opening batsman Wasim Jaffer stole the show from a remarkable second innings recovering, belting a deserved 212.
He received some great support by his team mates with batsmen Dravid (62) and Dhoni (69) knocking around to score half centuries. To add to this, all other involved batsmen managed to score over 30 runs, as the Indians swung the match back into their favour.
Set a towering 392 runs for victory, the Windies started positively after a solid 67 opening stand between Gayle and Ganga, before Ganga was dismissed for 36. However, some tight bowling turned the tide, as the Windies lost two crucial top order wickets (Sarwan and Lara) in quick succession, leaving the home side struggling at 3/72. Chanderpaul and Gayle geared to launch a revival, posting a solid 99 run partnership before Kumble (4/107 from 34 overs) ended the party, trapping Gayle in front for 69. However, the Indians managed to get on a roll thanks to part time spinner Vehrinder Sehwag as Bravo and Ramdin fell quickly, leaving the Windies tail needing to bat for 21 overs in order to save the test. David Mohammed set out to do just that, sticking around to score a desperately needed 52, however Kumble once again swung the match back into India's favour and the equation looked sour for the Windies as their last two batsmen Edwards and Collymore needed to bat out 9 overs against a lively Indian attack.
Despite this, the exaggeratingly aggressive field and excessive pressure didn't manage to dislodge to tail enders, as they successfully survived the Indian bowling onslaught to draw the game.
Double century maker Wasim Jaffer was awarded man of the match, as the next test winds up to be another exciting tussle between the two sides.
The Windies' return effort with the bat was more credible as they notched up a very modest 371 in reply to India's first dig. Starring with the bat was gun batsman Chris Gayle who notched up a reserved 72 from 91balls; Dwayne Bravo with 68; and Ramnaresh Sarwan chipping in with a handy 58. Veteran spinner Anil Kumble (3/86) and paceman Patel (3/80) were the pick of the bowlers both sharing 3 wickets a piece.
Needing a much better batting performance in the second innings in order to remain in the match, the Indians delivered what seemed to be a knock out blow, as they managed to reach a mammoth total of 521. Opening batsman Wasim Jaffer stole the show from a remarkable second innings recovering, belting a deserved 212.
Jaffer on his way to a deserved 212. Image from Getty Images
Set a towering 392 runs for victory, the Windies started positively after a solid 67 opening stand between Gayle and Ganga, before Ganga was dismissed for 36. However, some tight bowling turned the tide, as the Windies lost two crucial top order wickets (Sarwan and Lara) in quick succession, leaving the home side struggling at 3/72. Chanderpaul and Gayle geared to launch a revival, posting a solid 99 run partnership before Kumble (4/107 from 34 overs) ended the party, trapping Gayle in front for 69. However, the Indians managed to get on a roll thanks to part time spinner Vehrinder Sehwag as Bravo and Ramdin fell quickly, leaving the Windies tail needing to bat for 21 overs in order to save the test. David Mohammed set out to do just that, sticking around to score a desperately needed 52, however Kumble once again swung the match back into India's favour and the equation looked sour for the Windies as their last two batsmen Edwards and Collymore needed to bat out 9 overs against a lively Indian attack.
Despite this, the exaggeratingly aggressive field and excessive pressure didn't manage to dislodge to tail enders, as they successfully survived the Indian bowling onslaught to draw the game.
So intense, captain Brian Lara couldn't even watch... Or it could be just one of those bad photos... Image from CricInfo
Double century maker Wasim Jaffer was awarded man of the match, as the next test winds up to be another exciting tussle between the two sides.
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