Basseterre (St Kitts), June 27 (IANS) In the end, the third Test between West Indies and India ended in a draw, as it seemed destined when rain prevented play for two of the first six sessions of play in the Warner Park Stadium here.
India, set a target of 392 to win in 88 overs, finished at 298 for 4 in 85 when the rival captains decided to call off play.
There were some unexpected twists on the last two days and things went topsy-turvy in the space of 24 hours. On Sunday, an hour before tea on the fourth day, India faced the prospect of following on. At tea on the final day Monday, they were chasing an improbable victory.
Brian Lara declared the West Indian second innings, 35 minutes into the day, at 172 for six, gambling that his bowlers could get the better of India's strokemakers if they went for the runs.
At tea, with India were 200 for 2, Lara may have rued making his declaration. India then had 33 overs to get the next 192, with V.V.S. laxman and Rahul Dravid well set and Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni waiting in the dressing room.
After tea, India raised the tempo, made their final charge. Laxman (63, 107 balls, 10 fours) and Dravid added 43 in the first eight overs, bowled by part-time spinners, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, before Laxman got out, to the first ball bowled by Pedro Collins in a new spell.
In walked Mahendra Singh Dhoni. On his capacity for big-hitting would the result of this victory charge be determined. He slammed the first ball he faced, from Pedro Collins, way over long-off for six. The race was on, India needed 141 off 24 overs.
Or so it seemed. Dhoni got another six off Collins, again over long-off.
Then, with Lara getting ultra-defensive, it became too big an ask even for this big-hearted, hard-hitting batsman. With two medium-pacers operating, both bowling a line well-outside off-stump, and seven men on the off-side, there was little he could do, especially on this fifth-day wicket.
Finally, when Jerome Taylor came on for Collins, Dhoni blazed at one, it flew towards cover where Gayle made a spectacular catch. It was not just the end of Dhoni's innings, it was the end of India's chase and virtually the end of the match. Dravid (68 not out, 131 balls, 1 six, 4 fours) and Yuvraj (8 not out, 50 balls) simply played out time after that.
The course of the Indian second innings was determined by the 109 first-wicket stand between Virender Sehwag (65, 75 balls, 8 fours) and Wasim Jaffer (54, 118 balls, 5 fours). There was nothing slapdash about it.
Neither Sehwag nor Jaffer played extravagantly. They were at ease, playing balls on their merit, and runs came effortlessly. If at all, Sehwag seemed restrained, boundaries did not flow from his bat as usual.
He was helped along by two lives, the first when he was on five, and India just 10, when Chris Gayle dropped a simple chance at first slip off Taylor, the second when Ramnaresh Sarwan, the straighter of two short covers, failed to hold on to a powerfully struck drive off Bravo. Sehwag was 56 then, and India 94.
Sehwag's dismissal in the first ball after lunch - Corey Collymore trapped him leg before with one that kept a bit low - was a blow to their hopes of further acceleration. All then would depend on Dhoni, but Lara handled his defence well and a draw it was.
SCOREBOARD
Day 5, Third Test, West Indies v India, Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre (St Kitts)
Match drawn
West Indies (1st innings): 581
India (1st innings): 362
West Indies (2nd innings):
Chris Gayle c Dhoni b Sreesanth 3
Darren Ganga not out 66
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Dravid b Sreesanth 23
Brian Lara st Dhoni b Kumble 19
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c and b Kumble 11
Dwayne Bravo c Sreesanth b Kumble 9
Marlon Samules st Dhoni b Harbhajan 20
Denesh Ramdin not out 8
Extras (b 4, lb 7, w 1, nb 1) 13
Total (for 6 decl, 32 overs) 172
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-46, 3-81, 4-102, 5-120, 6-152
Bowling:
Munaf Patel 7-0-43-0 (1nb)
S. Sreesanth 6-1-19-2
Anil Kumble 12-0-60-3 (1w)
Harbhajan Singh 7-0-39-1
India (2nd innings):
Wasim Jaffer c Gayle b Collins 54
Virender Sehwag lbw Collymore 65
V.V.S. Laxman c Lara b Collins 63
Rahul Dravid not out 68
M. S. Dhoni c Gayle b Taylor 20
Yuvraj Singh not out 8
Extras (b 9, lb 8, w 1, nb 2) 20
Total (for 4 wkts in 85 overs) 298
Fall of wickets: 1-109, 2-143, 3-243, 4-273
Bowling:
Pedro Collins 18-1-66-2 (1nb, 1w)
Jerome Taylor 11-1-40-1 (1nb)
Corey Collymore 15-3-40-1
Marlon Samuels 20-3-68-0
Dwayne Bravo 7-1-36-0
Chris Gayle 14-2-31-0
© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service | 
