The Hindu : Sport : West Indies makes a bright start

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Friday, Jun 23, 2006

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Sport

West Indies makes a bright start

S. Ram Mahesh

Basseterre: West Indies reached 108 for no loss in 31 overs at tea on a start-stop first day of the third Test here at Warner Park, with the openers Chris Gayle (69) and Daren Ganga (34) going strong.

No play was possible in the first session on Thursday. Showers that rattled aluminium roofs through the island of St. Kitts in the wee and not so wee hours of Thursday morning did enough to put off play till after an early lunch.

After Brian Lara won his first toss of the series, a quiet passage of eight overs — play starting at 12.30 p.m. local time — finished in a spot of blood-letting from Gayle when rain intervened again. Munaf Patel began impressively, bowling with pace (85-88 mphs) and movement. His partner, Sreesanth, felt the brunt of Gayle swinging smoothly through — no footwork — after three successive maidens.

Partners in crime

Both Indian opening bowlers, however, were guilty of not making the batsmen play enough on a track that had carry to warrant Dhoni collecting with his gloved fingers pointing sky-wards. After the 25-minute rain break, Ganga — who had looked his customary edgy self — underwent a transformation. He strode purposefully into his strokes. A straight drive off Munaf was a classic.

Anil Kumble — introduced in the 15th over — hit a relentless spot. Gayle, at the other end, looked to ensure the crowd got its complement of entertainment despite match-time being compressed. The left-hander cut Sreesanth flat for six: a stroke that blended a heady mix of flair and naked power.

Consequently, Harbhajan Singh entered the attack in the 18th over, and drew a mis-hit from Gayle that still went to the cover boundary. The openers brought up their second half-century partnership of the series when Sehwag, at mid-on, let one through.

Earlier, umpires Rudi Koertzen and Brian Jerling made their first inspection at 9.30 a.m. local time, half-hour before the scheduled start, and were sufficiently concerned to inspect again at 10 a.m., and 11 a.m. Two areas of worry were point and fine-leg, when viewed from the pavilion end.

Blotter

Brian Lara stomped his carpet slippers on the outfield, while the umpires supervised an immense Super Sopper, named Blotter — replete with a flashing siren light — doing its stuff. The ground-staff pulled out all stops as the iron rake made a popular appearance.

The sun had begun to beat down; a breeze was bending the tape that cordoned off the square. An ideal confluence of conditions for drying.

The crowd — expected to be a full-house since Thursday was declared a holiday — trickled in. The party tents on the grass knolls that flank the grounds began filling up, but the stands proper had fewer paper fans flapping around.

The changes

India brought in Harbhajan Singh and S. Sreesanth — both having recovered from injuries — for Irfan Pathan and V.R.V. Singh, changing personnel, but sticking to four bowlers. Lara had ventured that India missed Harbhajan's services in the first two Tests; the off-spinner got his first opportunity of the Test series.

For West Indies, batsman Marlon Samuels — pencilled in at No. 7 — replaced left-armer Ian Bradshaw in a move that has both defensive and offensive connotations. A batsman coming in for a bowler almost always betrays concern; Lara might contend that making enough runs to put pressure on India is the way to go.

SCOREBOARD

West Indies — 1st innings: C. Gayle (batting) 69, D. Ganga (batting) 34; Extras (lb-2, nb-3): 5; Total (for no loss in 31 overs at tea) 108.

India bowling: Patel 7-2-16-0, Sreesanth 8-3-23-0, Kumble 9-2-21-0, Harbhajan 7-0-46-0.

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