I think West Indies is going to win this Test match. As I mentioned yesterday, West Indies would have been happy to chase a total in the region of 320. A target of 313 is achievable. India's lower-order collapse cannot be called a turning point in the game. West Indies needed to get either VVS Laxman or Sourav Ganguly early. They did just that. After that the collapse was expected. One never expected Ajay Ratra and the rest of the tail to provide much resistance. Breaking through the top order pumped the bowlers up, and gave them just the extra bit of energy they needed to wind up the Indian innings.

Even though one always expected the tailenders to cave in, they should at least have made an effort to hang in there, especially since a specialist batsman was at the other end. Javagal Srinath, for instance, was backing away to the leg side and just pushing at the ball. The fact that he had sustained injuries at the hands of fast bowlers might have been playing on his mind. It all boiled down to application, spending extra time at the nets with the bat and developing the technique needed to at least defend their wicket.

The West Indian batsmen approached the task on hand very well. They didn't try to get the runs in a hurry. The top-order batsmen tried to play themselves in and spend time at the crease. They whittled away at the target, which is the right thing to do on this pitch.

Ramnaresh Sarwan threw his wicket away again after a good start. He's too good a player to be getting just 30s and 40s. Once you start middling the ball so well, you just can't afford to get out as frequently as Sarwan has been doing recently. His problem isn't a technical one; it's his tendency to lose concentration that results in these dismissals.

Brian Lara went down the wicket and had a word with him when he chased a wide ball outside the off stump. One wonders what exactly was going on in Sarwan's mind when he played that shot. What was he planning? Was he analysing the pitch, the conditions, the match-situation and the bowling attack and planning his approach accordingly? He must think better along those lines, and be able to concentrate for long periods of time.

Sourav Ganguly looked very flustered on the field today, as he often does. He needs to stay calm even when things aren't going well for his team. His team-mates look up to him for leadership and guidance during hard times in the field, and he puts too much pressure on them by gesticulating to his fielders when runs are given away or talking too often with his bowlers.

Winning tomorrow is extremely important for West Indian cricket. They haven't been doing too well even at home recently, as they used to. They must get back the winning habit.

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 3: More Indian than West Indian
Day 2: Umpiring mishaps
Day 1: Deceived by the pitch

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