As expected, the third Test between India and the West Indies ended in a draw, but what will baffle everyone, is why Brian Lara, who has captained the team so brilliantly throughout this tour by India, opted to bat again and did not enforce the follow-on when India were 219 runs short of the West Indies total. Maybe his bowlers were tired, but the real chance of putting any pressure on the Indians was by asking them to follow on, for there was simply not enough time for the West Indies to bowl India out in the second innings after they decided to bat again. By enforcing the follow-on, Lara would also have recovered the psychological advantage that had been lost in the first two Tests, and again, even if India were to score say 350 runs in their second innings; there weren’t enough overs for India to bowl the West Indies out on the last day. What Lara has done is inadvertently, concede that his batsmen are worried about the Indian spinners and that in itself is a telling pointer to the Indians that spin is their strength on any pitch and so should not be toyed with.
Once the Indians got off to a flying start thanks to Sehwag and Jaffer, the West Indies were on the back foot, and though both openers were dismissed soon after lunch, the in-form Laxman and skipper Dravid made sure that there were no alarms and took the opportunity to play themselves in form for the last Test. With the confidence that Laxman will get after his two innings here, and with Dravid, Jaffer and Sehwag also scoring runs, the Indians now have four batsmen in very good touch and brimming with confidence. Yes, there is a worry about Yuvraj, who somehow hasn’t been able to get the consistency of the one-dayers in his Test career, and with Kaif still playing to establish himself, India may just struggle to get a move on, as was apparent in the final session of this Test.
Still, with the top four batting well, there is a case for Pathan to be brought back in, not only to add variety to the attack with his left-arm seamers, but also to bolster the batting down the order. Dhoni and he do give the Indians a lot more depth, and most teams having such players in their ranks would go in with five batsmen and five bowlers. There is just one Test left and its a great chance to beat a side that others have been beating with ease and regularly too, and that can only be done by picking the right players. By including Harbhajan, the Indians made up for omitting him in the first two Tests, and now by going in with Pathan, they will be putting in their best team on the field, even looking at the lack of runs from Yuvraj.
Indian cricket-lovers were expecting a brownwash, but that hasn’t happened. Still, even if India win the last Test and with it, the series, the fans will be delighted that the tour wasn’t a wasted opportunity after all.
