India have to thank Rahul Dravid for bailing them out of a tough situation. I was really impressed with the character he showed out in the middle. When he went out to bat in the second session yesterday, he was struggling with his form. He scratched around for his first few runs when Sachin Tendulkar was at the other end, but he stuck to his task. He found the going much easier as he spent more time at the crease, and crucially, kept going after Tendulkar was dismissed.

It required a lot of guts to stay out there after he'd been struck on the face by Mervyn Dillon this morning. His face had swelled up, but he shrugged off the pain and stayed at the wicket. With VVS Laxman getting out soon after, West Indies might have had an opening if Dravid had chosen to leave the field for medical attention. He fought on, and thoroughly deserved his century. It was a knock all of India can be proud of.

Carl Hooper's captaincy throughout this Test was strangely defensive. Yesterday, he had effected a couple of excellent bowling changes in the afternoon session when Tendulkar was going great guns. Mahendra Nagamootoo bowled superbly to frustrate Tendulkar and then take his wicket at the stroke of tea.

However, instead of starting off with Nagamootoo after the break, Hooper opted to use his fast bowlers. I thought he missed a trick there – having the new batsman face Nagamootoo immediately might have been a good idea. Hooper was too predictable most of the time.

This morning, again, his tactics were inexplicable. West Indies already had the runs on the board, and with four wickets down and a new ball to tackle, all the pressure was on India. Yet, Hooper had just two slips for most of the day, making it much easier for the Indian batsmen. The pitch was admittedly a batting paradise, and perhaps India would have saved the match anyway, but a more attacking approach by the captain would have made it a lot tougher for the Indians. As it stands now, the last day's play will be a mere formality.

Michael Holding, a key member of the West Indies pace quartet of the 1970s and '80s, will be contributing the Wisden Verdict for all the Tests in this series. He was talking to S Rajesh.

More Michael Holding
Day 3: Frustration got to Tendulkar
Day 2: Responsibility helps
Day 1: Can't blame Sourav

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