Zero, zero, eight, zero. Jesus, it's a full-scale slump. The big moment today came at about 3.25pm. Not merely because West Indies got a big wicket – which they undoubtedly did - but because they had Sachin Tendulkar first ball, out in exactly the same manner for the second time in succession. By so removing him, they had now put him in a situation that he has never, ever, had to counter before: fight his way out of a bad patch.

It puts so much pressure on Tendulkar for the remaining three innings in the series that in a contest as evenly balanced as this, it could well emerge a key factor. How would he play when facing Pedro Collins? What impact would that have on the series? In fact, Tendulkar's dismissal made Hooper's decision to bowl first – "unusual for this ground, but usual for Hooper", according to a veteran journalist - almost look a fair one.

Two-hundred-and-twenty-six for three is fairly cushy, but going by India's tail-end performance all series, two early wickets tomorrow could even now mean a sub-300 score. Still, through the efforts of the beautiful Wasim Jaffer, and the solid Rahul Dravid, India ensured that they didn't lose the plot entirely on what appears to be a belter of a wicket.

Jaffer played like a man whose wait at the international level had been too long to fritter away. Dumped after two Tests against South Africa at home in 1999-2000, it appeared that he had been altogether forgotten. His rather less accomplished partner for Mumbai, Vinayak Mane, was consistently picked for the Rest of Indias and the Board President's XIs, and even seemed more likely to get the Test call. When Jaffer was eventually picked for the tour game versus Zimbabwe at home earlier this year, the selectors insisted that the two other openers picked in that squad, Gagan Khoda and Gautam Gambhir, be chosen in the XI.

Still, Jaffer's ability to get consistently big and graceful scores proved too hard to ignore. As in the second innings at Barbados, he was elegant, and in command. Anything with width was either left alone without fuss, or, more often, dispatched elegantly to the point fence with a vertical bat. Uncomplicated, fluid, and quite gorgeous.

Dravid was altogether more Dravid. He looked purposefully for the pull, spread-legged like Nasser Hussain, but rarely did it bring him runs. More productive were the drives through cover, and straight down the ground. Overall, he was just the cement India needed. Towards the end of the day, it was his stand with Sourav Ganguly – now in genuinely good Test form, capable of hoisting the short ball in front of square for six – that ensured a good day for India.

SS Das's position needs to be seriously looked at. He who was regarded as India's technically best equipped since Sunil Gavaskar has a flaw so large that the most extensive of therapies might prove inadequate. Nine times in 22 Tests he has been bowled, and a large number of those occasions have come off the inside edge. Today, the bat was less crooked than at other times. Das is said to have a chat on technique with every great he encounters. The results are yet to show. His two hundreds have both come against Zimbabwe, and both on the lifeless surfaces of the VCA stadium at Nagpur. Totally, almost half his Test runs have come against Zimbabwe. Even with ICC's ten-year table in operation, he can't live on that alone.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com in India. His reports will appear here throughout the Test series.

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