Ind vs WI: Sachin misses, but Ashwin scores his maiden ton!
Source: Dailybhaskar.com, DNA | Last Updated 15:08(25/11/11)
India were all out for 482 at tea on the fourth day of the third cricket Test against West indies.
At West Indies second innings, Adrian Barath was bowled out at 3 by Pragyan Ojha.
Earlier, India placed themselves in a good position to avoid the follow on against the West Indies on the fourth morning of the third and final cricket Test here on Friday.
At lunch, Virat Kohli (32) and Ravichandran Ashwin (26) were the unbeaten batsmen and the home side were 376 for 6, only 15 runs short of avoiding the follow on and 214 runs behind the rivals' score of 590.
Meanwhile, the wait got prolonged and a billion hopes were dashed yet again as Sachin Tendulkar missed out on his 100th century at the third and final test against West Indies at Wankhede here.
The master blaster fell a mere six runs shy of the landmark ton when he got out to a Ravi Rampaul delivery.
Sachin was replaced at the crease by skipper MS Dhoni who made eight runs before being bowled out by Darren Sammy.
Earlier, India lost its first wicket on Day 4 when VVS Laxman got out to a delivery from FH Edwards at a personal score of 32.
Earlier on Day 3, the anticipation around that elusive landmark century reached a crescendo when the Indian crowd actually celebrated the fall of an Indian wicket- Gautam Gambhir- so that Tendulkar could come out to bat. Gautam Gambhir made exit after a sound 55 and India were then two down.
Cruelly put, Gambhir’s dismissal only created a heightened sense of anticipation at the Wankhede Stadium. For the 20,000-odd spectators, the match had now become incidental, a mere convenience to hold together a Sachin Tendulkar plot. That’s what the anticipation of a Tendulkar milestone — in this case his hundredth 100 — usually does.
So then, he arrived amidst an impossible din, shadow-practicing a defensive push. The highest run-getter in Tests joined the second-highest run-getter, Rahul Dravid. This was the third day of the Test and the most awaited session.
Slowly the ring of fields squeezed tighter. Darren Samuels called on a short-leg, two slips and a gully. Ravi Rampaul bounded in, alive to the moment. Get Tendulkar and kill the Test. Tendulkar’s first-ball single calmed the scene. By sundown, he had moved to an unbeaten 67, just 33 runs away from the moment, should it come on the fourth day. India meanwhile are 281 for three, with batsmen on either side continuing to have a field day in the Test.
It’s interesting that he decided to abandon the pull that got him out in Delhi and Kolkata. Aware that the stroke against spinners has been his chief failing in the series, Sammy placed Marlon Samuel very close at square-leg. Not until he was 57 did he take a chance with the horizontal bat. He enjoyed a slice of luck, too (at 58), when wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh spilled a certain caught-behind chance.
In fact, the West Indies could’ve had a far more productive day. VVS Laxman, unbeaten on 32, top-edged Darren Sammy but Kirk Edwards just lost the ball in the air. Early in the Indian innings, Baugh (again) had dropped Gautam Gambhir off Fidel Edwards.
Apart from a couple of blips, the Indian batsmen were never quite pushed. Dravid (82), who shared a century stand with Tendulkar, looked set for a certain hundred until a Samuels delivery brushed his off-stump.
Virender Sehwag too was his belligerent self, forcing Darren Sammy to have a backward point and deep-cover early in the Indian innings despite having 580 on board. But for the third time in this series, Sammy went through Sehwag’s defence. It could be said that the West Indies captain was sharper than his frontline quicks. Not that India will mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment