Two fine spells of bowling on the final day decided the Test in India's favour. One was Ashish Nehra's morning spell of seven overs, in which he conceded 19 runs and picked up the crucial wickets of Brian Lara and Carl Hooper. Any further resistance was quelled by Javagal Srinath's afternoon spell of 11 overs, in which he gave away just 21 runs and picked up the wickets of Mervyn Dillon and Marlon Black. The key to both spells was control. Nehra was a revelation: 38 of his 42 balls were just outside off (a staggering 90%) and 33 (78%) were on a good length. He swung the ball appreciably, and the batsmen were not in control of their stroke as much as 22% of the time. West Indies were probably favourites when play began this morning; Ashish Nehra turned the tide.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul resisted doughtily, and with some support, might have taken West Indies to the target. But Srinath thought otherwise. Bowling an impressive 11-over spell, he cut off the top off the tail, getting rid of Dillon and Black. A bowler often chastised for being wayward in his length, he was spot-on today. As many as 54 of the 66 balls he delivered (82%) were on a good length, and 53 of them were either just outside off or on the off-stump – the perfect line to bowl to the tail.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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