Close West Indies 405 for 5 ( Hooper 136, Chanderpaul 80*) trail India (513 for 9 dec) by 108 runs
scorecard

West Indies eked out a meagre 218 runs – and Carl Hooper a third century in the series - in 90 overs as the Antigua Test match meandered towards a boring draw. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was also heading to three figures for a third time, only he had slowed down like a wind-up toy by stumps. There were all-too-brief periods during the day when proceedings threatened to liven up, but they fizzled out like a cigarette in the rain.

The final session was especially excruciating, with only 65 runs added. Ridley Jacobs lofted Sachin Tendulkar for a six over midwicket just before the close, but by then most of the spectators on the trees were in danger of falling off – asleep. Hooper departed for 136, victim of a pre-meditated slog. He charged Tendulkar and the inside-out stroke over the offside flew to Ashish Nehra at cover. It ended a fine innings, but did little to alter the state of a match that was dead the moment West Indies crossed the follow-on target of 313.

India's bowlers couldn't be faulted for their commitment in the morning – and they did pick up the early wicket of Ramnaresh Sarwan to give the team a slim chance – but Hooper and Chanderpaul were largely untroubled by everything thrown at them as they guided West Indies to within touching distance of avoiding the follow-on by lunch. India went into the interval bowling four successive maidens - with Javagal Srinath having figures of 6-5-1-0 for the session - but the wickets they so badly needed never materialised.

They took the new ball 70 minutes into the session, almost eight overs after it was due, but the difference was negligible. The batsmen enjoyed a brief flourish, with Chanderpaul cutting Nehra for four and then on-driving Zaheer Khan with superb timing. Hooper was severe on an errant Nehra, essaying a magnificent pull and then flicking him neatly between two leg-side fielders for boundaries.

Zaheer and Tendulkar had bowled unchanged for the first hour, but as their energy levels flagged in the heat, the runs started to flow. A bullet of a pull from Hooper off Zaheer and a nonchalant, driven six over cover when Tendulkar pitched one too wide were ominous signs for the Indians.

All this after Sarwan had squandered another start. After Hooper had worked him down to third man for two fours in his first over, Zaheer stormed back in his second. Sarwan played a rather lazy shot across the line to a delivery pitched on the stumps and was trapped plumb in front (196 for 4). He went for 51, and the onus was once more on Hooper and Chanderpaul to salvage the situation, something they did to the tune of 186 runs.

The afternoon session brought two hours of unmitigated misery for the Indians, and long periods of boredom for the spectators. Hooper brought up his third hundred of the series, while Chanderpaul moved halfway there. The batsmen were in sleepwalking mode though and the first half hour of play produced just five runs. Srinath and Zaheer bowled a great line and length, without ever really threatening the breakthrough. The closest India got was when Chanderpaul was sent back by Hooper and survived a run-out chance because Tendulkar missed with his throw from mid-off.

Once Nehra came on, the runs started to flow. First, Hooper punched him off the back foot for three and then Chanderpaul chipped in with a well-controlled slice down to third man. In Zaheer's next over, Hooper played a magnificent cut for four, taking him past 500 runs in the series for the first time in his career.

The 100 partnership and the 300 came up in quick succession. Hooper moved into the 90s with a magnificent straight six off Sourav Ganguly, two overs after the bowler had put down a difficult caught-and-bowled chance low to his left. A gorgeous cover-drive moments later got him to three figures.

Once the follow-on target was crossed, India more or less threw in the towel and the runs flowed. Zaheer came back to bowl left-arm spin, with a conspicuous lack of success. Chanderpaul smashed him down to long-on and then slogged him over midwicket when he pitched short. He got to 50 with a cut for four off Sachin, and Hooper then ensured that the session ended on a high when he launched Sachin miles over midwicket for a six.

Sadly for the crowd – who did their best to stay entertained, music and all – that was where the excitement ended. They could stop this now, and all head off for Jamaica. But in cricket, unlike chess, you can't just shake hands and call it a day.

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

West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Wavell Hinds, 3 Brian Lara, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Carl Hooper (capt), 6 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Mervyn Dillon, 9 Cameron Cuffy, 10 Pedro Collins, 11 Adam Sanford.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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