The West Indies did it again. My earlier column, wherein I had suggested that the rains aren’t torrential enough in the Caribbean to stop a game but only delay, shows how bad a weatherman I would make. Seriously though, with the outfield not being in the best of conditions, it wasn’t good enough for any play on the fourth day and then the West Indies skipper Brian Lara chose the second innings to play a match-saving innings and give his team another breather before hostilities resume after a week.
Modern-day tours mean that there will be no cricket in this interval as the players take off for one of the many islands in the Caribbean to just chill and relax and not think any cricket. Not that Dravid will forget cricket, for he will know more than anyone else that in both the Tests he has been thwarted by the lack of the extra bowler who could have turned the tide for India.
True, Sehwag has done an admirable job with his off-spinners, but if he is causing problems to the West Indians, then just imagine how much Harbhajan can create for the many left-handers in the West Indies side. Any batsman will tell you that it’s the ball that leaves them that causes the most problems, be it seam or spin and with Gayle, Lara and Chanderpaul in the top order being all left-handers, it does make a good case for an off spinner to be included in the team. Of course, the problem of whom to leave out will be a taxing one, but if India have to win, then they have to seriously consider going in with five bowlers in their eleven. It was important for the West Indies to not just to save the Test but to have their skipper firing, and that’s what the Test has achieved. So far, Lara has been sketchy and scratching around, which was certainly not flattering for a batsman with his awesome record and achievements. He finally batted in the manner he is known to, and though like always there was an element of chance early in his innings, once the feet started to move, it was tough even for the canny Kumble to contain him. The leggie has got his number in recent times with the one that hurries through, and the flatter trajectory of Kumble does not allow Lara to use the sweep shot regularly as a tactical response, which he does to throw other spinners off their line and length.
The skipper regaining his form gives the West Indians that much more heart, and that’s why it was an important innings from him in the context of the rest of the series. Once again, Chanderpaul was hard to remove and it was a full toss that finally got him, but Bravo’s increasing confidence is making him bat better and he also is turning out to be tough customer to dismiss. Kumble was as usual the one man who posed continuous problems for the West Indians, and Pathan and Munaf were on target without looking threatening. India missed the extra bowler for the second consecutive Test match and hopefully it’s not for a personal reason but a cricketing one.
