Close India 275 for 6 (Bangar 77, Laxman 48)
Scorecard

One team entered this game defeated and diffident, the other went into it in a blaze of self-belief, determined to stamp their authority on the game. And yet, when play ended with India on 275 for the wickets of their top six batsmen, it was clearly West Indies who had come out better.

All the Indian batsmen got starts and wasted them, many partnerships sprung up and fell apart, and West Indies got two wickets in each session to peg India down just when they seemed set to take the upper hand.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly did not get those long-awaited first hundreds at Eden Gardens and VVS Laxman did not provide an encore – though for a while they all seemed set to deliver.

The morning began with West Indies inexplicably deciding to play four fast bowlers, the first time a team has ever gone into a Test at this venue without a specialist spinner. It looked a masochistic venture on a relaid pitch that clearly had nothing in it for the quick bowlers, and Carl Hooper's attitude was negative – he threw the new ball to Cameron Cuffy instead of Jermaine Lawson and Darren Powell, the two young tearaways who might have tested the Indian openers more.

Virender Sehwag blazed out of the blocks, racing to a belligerent run-a-ball 35 before being trapped lbw by Merv Dillon (49 for 1). Rahul Dravid then played a polished cameo of 14, middling the ball fluently and showing positive intent, and he was unfortunate to be given out lbw off an inside-edge (71 for 2). Powell was the lucky bowler, David Shepherd the errant umpire.

But India nevertheless finished the morning session well, on 98 for 2, with Tendulkar playing what was once his natural game, free flowing and strokeful, and Sanjay Bangar being the perfect anchor, composed and unruffled.

After lunch, Hooper reverted to the only tactic captains the world over seem to have against Tendulkar: stifling him into indiscretion. With Bangar going into a shell at one end, unable to get the singles, Tendulkar was denied much of the strike. When he did get the strike, Hooper set a 7-2 field and the bowlers pitched it outside off, tempting him to go for it.

At first, he was patient, but then came the occasional flash and miss, and finally the edge off Lawson to Chris Gayle at first slip, who almost messed it up (116 for 3). Tendulkar had made 36.

Ganguly played some beautifully timed strokes while he was at the crease, but the scoreboard still did not cruise along at the pace it had gathered before lunch.

No surprise then that Ganguly, who likes to dominate the bowling, finally lost it and was out edging an attempted cut off Hooper off the last ball before tea.

The difference a cuppa makes. The tempo of the game changed completely after tea, with Bangar in particular a man transformed. His batting had aggression and yet not a trace of desperation. Instead of lashing out every once in a while, as he did before tea, he played the bowling on its dubious merit.

The shot that stood out was a pull off Carl Hooper, an imperious shot that many in the Kolkata crowd could have been forgiven for thinking came off the blade of his partner.

Laxman, meanwhile, batted solidly, with the occasional cover-drive or flick that evoked a gasp from the crowd that came as much from déjà vu as appreciation of the moment. The two batsmen had added 77 – each contributing 32 to the partnership – when Bangar was finally out for 77, tamely scooping a slower one from Cuffy to Wavell Hinds at cover (242 for 5). Laxman and Parthiv Patel then added 29 runs before Laxman wafted loosely at a Dillon delivery in the corridor, and Gayle held on comfortably at first slip (271 for 6).

The last Test at Eden Gardens defied all predictions, and the underdogs triumphed thanks to Laxman's classic 281. This Test will be anything but a no-contest, as it was widely expected to be. What is it about the Kolkata air?

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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