Close West Indies 446 for 5 (Chanderpaul 136*, W Hinds 100, Samuels 89*, Gayle 88) lead India 358 by 88 runs
Scorecard

An emphatic batting display by West Indies put them firmly in control of the third Test by close of play on the third day at Eden Gardens. Leading the charge was Shivnarine Chanderpaul – a familiar nemesis for the Indian bowlers - with a commanding, unbeaten 136, his sixth Test century, and his fifth against India. His 191-run partnership with Marlon Samuels, undefeated with a classy 89, put West Indies in a position to dictate terms for the first time in the series.

On a pitch which afforded the spinners more assistance than on the first two days, both batsmen handled the slow men with an ease which made the Indian attack look ragged for much of the day's play. Sourav Ganguly shuffled his bowlers around relentlessly, and even tried the part-time spin of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. But it hardly made a difference to the batsmen, who batted on in murky conditions to flog a listless attack.

Chanderpaul was assured throughout his 255-ball stay, middling the ball from the start. He began by nudging the singles, then broke the shackles after lunch, clubbing Anil Kumble for four fours and a six – an effortless sweep over square leg – in a two-over period. His ability to play the ball late was an invaluable asset on a slow track. Harbhajan Singh bowling wide outside leg stump from over the wicket late in the afternoon session was a clear sign that the Indian bowlers had conceded defeat to this man.

Chanderpaul was a known devil, but Samuels's knock was quite a revelation. He started off tentatively in the few minutes he batted before lunch, but came out after the break a transformed man. He was secure in defence, but the feature of his batting was his superb strokeplay in the V. Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Kumble all felt the heat as Samuels unfurled fluent drives down the wicket which served as a reminder of his unmistakable talent.

With the seamers largely ineffective – except for an incisive new-ball spell by Nehra – the Indian attack had little to fall back upon. By the post-tea session, Ganguly was switching his bowlers more in hope than conviction. Tendulkar got prodigious turn, but served up at least one four-ball per over. Against batsmen in such sublime form, and on a lightning-quick outfield, that was only an invitation for trouble.

The Indians had started the day in encouraging fashion, though. Chris Gayle added only eight to his overnight 80 before gloving one from Kumble to Sehwag at short leg (213 for 4). Then Kumble and Harbhajan combined superbly to tie down Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper. Their 42-run partnership took an hour and a half, as Kumble, especially, had Hooper in plenty of bother with his googlies.

Ganguly delayed the second new ball till the innings was 100 overs old, but his eventual decision to take it yielded immediate results. Nehra produced a perfect delivery in the corridor, which Hooper prodded at, edged, and Parthiv Patel dived to his right to bring off a spectacular one-handed catch (255 for 5). Hooper made only 19, and India were only one wicket away from having a crack at the tail. Then came the partnership which snatched the game away from India, and ensured that their batsmen will be under pressure when they come out to play in the second innings.

S Rajesh is sub editor of Wisden.com in India.

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