So Near and Yet so Far
In a match where fortunes kept swinging like a yo-yo,a draw was probably the most fitting result at the Antigua Recreation Ground yesterday.And that's the way it eventually did after 90 overs of play on the final day.The heroes for the home side were the southpaw trio ---Chris Gayle,Shivnarine Chanderpaul and ...........Not Brian Charles Lara but .......Dave Mohammed.Gayle was mostly Ungayleish,choosing to defend rather than his natural attacking style. Chanderapul played a composed innings.Mohammed ,the least unlikely hero of the trio scored 52 runs which were worth their weight in gold.
On the final day the most potent threat to the home side was expected to be Anil Kumble and the Karnataka warhorse proved that with 4 wickets to his name. He also bowled close to one third of the overs.Darren Ganga and Gayle started off the innings pretty well and at 66/0 with a few overs to go for lunch,the West Indies were in the safe zone.But Kumble struck ,with Ganga out to a brilliant diving catch by Yuvraj.And Sreesanth for whom it was remarked that the test had so far been"worth jumping off the bridge" snapped up Ramnaresh Sarwan,the one day series hero and then the prize wicket of Lara,whose last test at the ground when he had broken batting records ended up with a golden duck. (Notice the little similarity between Bradman and Lara).After Gayle and Chanderpaul defied Kumble the wet behind the ears Indian pace bowlers,with the trio having a total of 4 tests between them . But then things changed --Kumble struck and then Sehwag added to his tally of 2 in the first Innings with another 2.
The West Indies ,who before the start of the last session hadn't exactly envisaged defeat were now staring down the barrel. 21 overs with 3 wickets to go. And the last three were the West Indies tailenders,not definitely with defying capabilities. But them Mohammad scored his 52 and Collymore survived the last over amidst great tension with Fidel Edwards.And so the WI ended with 298/9. Lara did not have the heart to see the last ball ,he himself remarked later.The umpires were under constant pressure throughout the day and they gave a pretty decent acct of themselves.
One wonders whether a draw might have been a win had Pathan and Harbhajan played. But this is not time to talk about if's and buts.A win would have been sweet for this young Indian team and would have been a morale booster for a side which have been on a losin streak after seeing their run of 17 Odi victories end.
This match may be remembered for the M.S. Dhoni "catch" and Lara's behaviour. But it deserves to be remembered for more than that. For this was the last test match at the fabled ground where Brian Lara scored his 375 and his 400 + knock,both against the Englishmen
On the final day the most potent threat to the home side was expected to be Anil Kumble and the Karnataka warhorse proved that with 4 wickets to his name. He also bowled close to one third of the overs.Darren Ganga and Gayle started off the innings pretty well and at 66/0 with a few overs to go for lunch,the West Indies were in the safe zone.But Kumble struck ,with Ganga out to a brilliant diving catch by Yuvraj.And Sreesanth for whom it was remarked that the test had so far been"worth jumping off the bridge" snapped up Ramnaresh Sarwan,the one day series hero and then the prize wicket of Lara,whose last test at the ground when he had broken batting records ended up with a golden duck. (Notice the little similarity between Bradman and Lara).After Gayle and Chanderpaul defied Kumble the wet behind the ears Indian pace bowlers,with the trio having a total of 4 tests between them . But then things changed --Kumble struck and then Sehwag added to his tally of 2 in the first Innings with another 2.
The West Indies ,who before the start of the last session hadn't exactly envisaged defeat were now staring down the barrel. 21 overs with 3 wickets to go. And the last three were the West Indies tailenders,not definitely with defying capabilities. But them Mohammad scored his 52 and Collymore survived the last over amidst great tension with Fidel Edwards.And so the WI ended with 298/9. Lara did not have the heart to see the last ball ,he himself remarked later.The umpires were under constant pressure throughout the day and they gave a pretty decent acct of themselves.
One wonders whether a draw might have been a win had Pathan and Harbhajan played. But this is not time to talk about if's and buts.A win would have been sweet for this young Indian team and would have been a morale booster for a side which have been on a losin streak after seeing their run of 17 Odi victories end.
This match may be remembered for the M.S. Dhoni "catch" and Lara's behaviour. But it deserves to be remembered for more than that. For this was the last test match at the fabled ground where Brian Lara scored his 375 and his 400 + knock,both against the Englishmen
posted by enigmaticme at
11:57 PM
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