Close India 339 and 165 for 4 (Laxman 57*, Ganguly 48*) lead West Indies 255 (Lara 52, Hooper 50) by 259 runs
scorecard

Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman put together a gritty partnership as India pushed West Indies further and further towards the abyss by the close of play on the third day of this Trinidad Test. They led by 259 runs with six second innings wickets in hand, and West Indies might need a Brian Lara-inspired miracle to get out of this hole. Bad light forced the players off four overs early, with Carl Hooper reduced to bowling Ramnaresh Sarwan, whose legspin is as innocuous as it gets, at the end. By then, the prospect of a wicket was as remote as the chances of either of these teams bowling their overs on time.

They were singing and dancing in the Trini Posse Stand when Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for his first Test duck since December 1999, but were left to entertain themselves and ignore the events on the field as India dominated the final session. It wasn't always pretty to watch and the cricket didn't flow, but India couldn't have cared less. Laxman was all class and elegance - some trademark flicks down to midwicket and superbly timed drives through the covers were particularly easy on the eye - till he got to the mid 40s, when he got bogged down. He inched past 50 and then played a magnificent pull off Adam Sanford that also brought up the 100 partnership.

Ganguly was nervous and tetchy at times, but as the session wore on, he even found the confidence to hook Sanford for four. Hooper bowled a miserly spell and the others kept it tight for long spells, but without ever threatening a breakthrough.

It was a far cry from tea time, when the Indian innings lay in tatters, with Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid both back in the pavilion. In a 14-ball spell in the half-hour before the interval, India tumbled from 54 for 1 to 56 for 4. Sanjay Bangar was first to go, his 62-ball vigil for 16 ending in tame fashion when he went to drive Sanford, but only succeeded in getting an edge to Carl Hooper at second slip (54 for 2). Once again Bangar had done the spadework and thrown it.

Cameron Cuffy then came back to pick up the wicket of Dravid, caught down the leg side by Junior Murray off the glove. He was gone for 36, and India were suddenly looking a little wobbly at 54 for 3.

That wobble became a fully-fledged quake when Tendulkar became the victim of yet another poor umpiring decision. He shuffled across to Sanford and was struck on the flap of the pad in front of his stumps. The ball would have probably gone over the top by about six inches but umpire de Silva's finger went up in a flash (56 for 4). Poor decision, but the crowd went wild with West Indies right back at the races.

It was just reward for the hosts too because Mervyn Dillon, Cuffy and Marlon Black were all on the money just after lunch, with runs very hard to come by. Both Bangar and Dravid survived good shouts for leg before, though Bangar looked plumb when Black had a vociferous appeal turned down.

For a while, India killed `em softly, with Dravid's bat striking the odd sweet four-note. He got his rub of the Trinidad green too, when he chopped a Dillon delivery into his boot, and over the stumps. It was symptomatic of Dillon's luck. He bowled a magnificent spell of eight overs for 15 runs, with only the wicket of SS Das to show for it.

Das made a duck as West Indies struck back just before lunch in a session that had been dominated by the Indian bowlers. He was trapped in front by a Dillon in-dipper that beat his defence and struck him in front of middle and off (6 for 1). Dravid walked out and immediately eased the nerves in the Indian camp with two crisp flicks for four off consecutive balls from Cuffy.

Earlier, West Indies added just 48 runs to their overnight score of 197 for 6. Ashish Nehra struck the first blow very early, dismissing Dillon lbw for 8 with one that pitched on leg and hit the batsman in line with middle (201 for 7).

Black and Hooper then frustrated the Indians for 40 minutes, adding 16 for the eighth wicket before a sharp piece of fielding - one of two instances where India excelled in the field - brought them the breakthrough. Hooper dabbed Nehra on the off side and, after some hesitation, set off for a run. Black was slow off the blocks as Harbhajan Singh swooped on the ball and hit the stumps direct. Third umpire Eddie Nichols took his time, but in the end made the correct decision. Black made 5 (217 for 8).

Hooper had raced fluently along to 30 on the second day, but was more patchy today, playing and missing more than once on a wicket showing increasing signs of inconsistent bounce. He nudged his runs mostly in singles, but seemed to be finding his touch when he effortlessly lofted Zaheer Khan over cover for four. He brought up his half-century in the next over off Harbhajan, but then fell in disappointing fashion, as an airy drive off Zaheer found Ganguly at cover (232 for 9). Hooper made 50, but West Indies would have wanted more from their captain.

Sanford entertained briefly in his 12, slogging Zaheer for a four and a three, but his luck ran out soon when he tried to hoick Harbhajan to leg. Tendulkar, stationed at deep midwicket, ran in and judged the catch perfectly to end West Indies' innings.

With the pitch getting lower and timing the ball a trying exercise in itself, chasing any sort of target won't be easy, more so with puffs of dust flying off the pitch each time the ball lands on certain spots. If Laxman and Ganguly carry on for a while tomorrow, West Indies might be best served by the rain Gods that reside in Guyana.

India 1 SS Das, 2 Sanjay Bangar, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Ajay Ratra (wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ashish Nehra 10 Javagal Srinath, 11 Zaheer Khan.

West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Stuart Williams, 3 Brian Lara, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Carl Hooper (capt), 6 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 7 Junior Murray, 8 Mervyn Dillon, 9 Cameron Cuffy, 10 Marlon Black, 11 Adam Sanford.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com India. S Rajesh is sub editor.

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