Three quick wickets at the fag-end soured it somewhat for West Indies, but Roger Harper would still be pleased with the application shown by Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle in their 172-run stand. The outstanding feature of their batting was the way they handled Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. Kumble was hammered for 71 from 108 balls – nearly four an over – while Harbhajan was more economical (30 from 112 balls) only because he resorted to bowling a defensive, over-the-wicket, outside-leg line – 62 of his deliveries ruled out the lbw as a possible mode of dismissal.

Hinds and Gayle complemented each other superbly. The fact that both were left-handers might have made it easier for the Indian bowlers to bowl a consistent line, but the two batsmen had different runscoring methods.

Hinds was commanding off the back foot, scoring 58 runs from 72 balls, 33 of which came from 26 deliveries that were pitched slightly short. Gayle managed only 19 from 51 balls when he played back, but collected 47 runs playing forward. He was severe on the half-volleys, hammering 16 off seven such deliveries.

Hinds also scored over Gayle in the assurance with which he played the bowlers. He was in control of more than 85% of his strokes, while the corresponding figure for Gayle was only 76%. Together, they gave West Indies a platform from which to build on the third day.

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

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