West Indies 204 (Baugh 60, Bravo 50, Ishant 5-77) v India West Indies' spirited counterattack wasn't enough to prevent India from retaining control of the third Test that had threatened to be a damp squip on the opening day, but was brought to life under blue skies and bright sunshine on the second. Carlton Baugh batted with typical Caribbean flair to infuse fluency in the West Indies innings after it appeared to stagnate against a
determined Indian pace attack in good batting conditions.
His partnership with Darren Bravo rescued the hosts from the depths of 99 for 5, but India hit back. Ishant Sharma removed Bravo and cleaned up the tail to pick up another five-for to continue a successful series. Harbhajan Singh dislodged Baugh to become only the 11th bowler - and the third Indian - to take 400 Test wickets.
More to follow ...
Lunch West Indies 128 for 5 (Bravo 41*,
Baugh 19*, Praveen 2-22) v India
India's bowlers kept the pressure on West Indies, dislodging Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels before lunch and showing discipline and accuracy on a track still good for batting. Bright sunshine greeted the start of play, which was delayed due to a drizzle, and unlike the first day when the players left for lunch with the threat of rain looming large, blue skies promised a longer contest on the second.
West Indies' progress was slow - the packed off-side fields contributed to that - and each of India's seamers bowled determinedly to create chances, and ensured the advantage rested with them in this stop-start Test.
Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo had batted solidly on the first morning to help West Indies rebuild from 35 for 3. Today, they were tested early during their stay with Munaf Patel assuming a lead role with the ball, as Ishant Sharma had done the day before.
Munaf made the batsmen play more than his seam-bowling partners, pegging away at the off stump and altering his lengths well. He got Chanderpaul to sway out of a bouncer, drew him into steering him past gully, angled the ball across the left- handers and eventually got his reward. In
his fourth over of the day, he dismissed Chanderpaul by forcing him to play at a short-of-a-length delivery that moved away just enough to produce a tickle to birthday boy MS Dhoni.
Bravo's innings appeared to stagnate following Chanderpaul's dismissal, and the 7-2 and 8-1 fields employed by Dhoni didn't help his cause as firm shots on the off side usually found a fielder. After almost running out Chanderpaul at one point, Bravo played out two consecutive maidens from Praveen Kumar and ceded floor to his partners.
At the other end, Samuels was given a working over from Munaf, who woke him up with a blow to the helmet and followed up superbly with a fullish delivery that was edged short of gully. In what was shaping
up to be a keen contest, Samuels latched on when Munaf pitched up in his next over, driving him through mid-off and point for boundaries. His innings was cut short with a lazy shot, lacking any intent, when he hung his bat at a shortish delivery from Praveen and dragged it back onto the stumps.
In the few overs before lunch, however, Bravo and Carlton Baugh, and the introduction of spin, infused the innings with some fluency. The field opened up for Bravo on the off side and his imperious drive on the up against Ishant Sharma was the highlight of West Indies' innings on the day. The busy player that is Baugh slog-
swept Harbhajan Singh for a six and the the pair duly dispatched part-timer Suresh Raina's long-hops through the off side to help West Indies cover some ground after being kept quiet for a majority of the session.
determined Indian pace attack in good batting conditions.
His partnership with Darren Bravo rescued the hosts from the depths of 99 for 5, but India hit back. Ishant Sharma removed Bravo and cleaned up the tail to pick up another five-for to continue a successful series. Harbhajan Singh dislodged Baugh to become only the 11th bowler - and the third Indian - to take 400 Test wickets.
More to follow ...
Lunch West Indies 128 for 5 (Bravo 41*,
Baugh 19*, Praveen 2-22) v India
India's bowlers kept the pressure on West Indies, dislodging Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels before lunch and showing discipline and accuracy on a track still good for batting. Bright sunshine greeted the start of play, which was delayed due to a drizzle, and unlike the first day when the players left for lunch with the threat of rain looming large, blue skies promised a longer contest on the second.
West Indies' progress was slow - the packed off-side fields contributed to that - and each of India's seamers bowled determinedly to create chances, and ensured the advantage rested with them in this stop-start Test.
Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo had batted solidly on the first morning to help West Indies rebuild from 35 for 3. Today, they were tested early during their stay with Munaf Patel assuming a lead role with the ball, as Ishant Sharma had done the day before.
Munaf made the batsmen play more than his seam-bowling partners, pegging away at the off stump and altering his lengths well. He got Chanderpaul to sway out of a bouncer, drew him into steering him past gully, angled the ball across the left- handers and eventually got his reward. In
his fourth over of the day, he dismissed Chanderpaul by forcing him to play at a short-of-a-length delivery that moved away just enough to produce a tickle to birthday boy MS Dhoni.
Bravo's innings appeared to stagnate following Chanderpaul's dismissal, and the 7-2 and 8-1 fields employed by Dhoni didn't help his cause as firm shots on the off side usually found a fielder. After almost running out Chanderpaul at one point, Bravo played out two consecutive maidens from Praveen Kumar and ceded floor to his partners.
At the other end, Samuels was given a working over from Munaf, who woke him up with a blow to the helmet and followed up superbly with a fullish delivery that was edged short of gully. In what was shaping
up to be a keen contest, Samuels latched on when Munaf pitched up in his next over, driving him through mid-off and point for boundaries. His innings was cut short with a lazy shot, lacking any intent, when he hung his bat at a shortish delivery from Praveen and dragged it back onto the stumps.
In the few overs before lunch, however, Bravo and Carlton Baugh, and the introduction of spin, infused the innings with some fluency. The field opened up for Bravo on the off side and his imperious drive on the up against Ishant Sharma was the highlight of West Indies' innings on the day. The busy player that is Baugh slog-
swept Harbhajan Singh for a six and the the pair duly dispatched part-timer Suresh Raina's long-hops through the off side to help West Indies cover some ground after being kept quiet for a majority of the session.
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