Both Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman batted very well today. Their partnership was the outstanding effort of the day's play. I don't think Carl Hooper could have done anything too different from what he did to separate them. Maybe he could have brought himself on earlier; he doesn't give away much. He could have tied up one end and had the fast bowlers on in five-over spells at the other end. They could have done with longer rests on this slow track. The absence of a frontline spinner in their side hurt West Indies. With the pitch offering no assistance to the pace bowlers, they will not be able to force the issue now, and can only restrict the scoring and wait for the batsmen to make a mistake. India, already 259 ahead, have no need to try anything special. They can build their innings and turn the screws on harder.

Ganguly, at the beginning of his innings, seemed to want to get on with it. He played a few adventurous shots early on, looking to blast the bowling. Then he settled down. He has been facing talk that he can't handle short-pitched bowling. With this innings, Ganguly showed that on a slow track, he can play the hook well.

Even the greatest of batsmen get out early sometimes. It's because of their greatness that opposing captains go all out to attack them very early. It happened today to Sachin Tendulkar. I don't, however, believe that he has a weakness against the incoming ball. I don't think he has any weakness against any ball.

Even at 56 for 4 and with Tendulkar gone, I didn't think India were in trouble. West Indies could not have bowled India out for 100 or 120 on this pitch. At best, India could have been bowled out for 150, but the lead of 94 would still have made it a stiff target for West Indies. Right now, the best West Indies can hope for is to chase a target of 320; at worst, 400.

Harbhajan Singh will have a chance on this wicket, which seems more Indian in nature than West Indian. That's why the only two Test matches that India have ever won in West Indies have been here in Trinidad. This is the only pitch in the Caribbean that plays so low and slow. The ball is turning, and the odd ball is keeping low. With enough runs on the board, India can afford to attack, and keep close-in fielders. Right now, they would be favourites to notch up their third win in Port-of-Spain.

The quality of play today was average, like the last two days. It's that kind of a pitch. This Test match is, of course, better as a contest than the earlier one. The Guyana Test was boring. We were very fortunate that rain brought that to an early end. But the slow over-rate isn't helping this Test. Monetary fines are clearly not working; perhaps docking the bowling side penalty runs will.

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 Raja M.

More Michael Holding
Day 2: Umpiring mishaps
Day 1: Deceived by the pitch

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