India moves toward series win over West Indies
KOLKATA, India (AP) — India moved toward a series-clinching victory today with West Indies trailing by 283 runs and only seven wickets left in its second innings at stumps on the third day of the second test at Eden Gardens.
West Indies reached 195-3 after being asked to follow on having earlier been bowled out for 153 in reply to India’s 631-7 declared.
Adrian Barath scored 62 and Kirk Edwards 60 in a 93-run stand for the second wicket, but both were eventually dismissed by fast bowler Ishant Sharma.
Darren Bravo (38) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (21) were the not out batsmen at the close.
India won the first test by five wickets last week. The third and final test in Mumbai starts next Tuesday.
Resuming its first innings on 34-2, West Indies struggled against spinner Pragyan Ojha (4-64) and pace bowler Umesh Yadav (3-23) and lasted only 48 overs.
The West Indies put up a pathetic display on a slow turning pitch, with batsmen often failing to judge the length of deliveries and also displaying poor shot selection to lose the last eight wickets for 119 runs by lunch.
Ojha took all his dismissals in the morning session, and Yadav chipped in with two as West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals.
“Right now we are in the driver’s seat and things are going pretty well at the moment,” Ojha said. “In the morning, there was some moisture in the wicket and it was doing a bit for us. We hope the same thing happens tomorrow.”
The collapse started with Edwards, who fell lbw to Ojha for 16 after adding just four to his overnight total. But the bigger setback was the early removal of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
The experienced left-hander, who struck a century in the first test in New Delhi for his seventh against India, was trapped lbw by offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin from round the wicket for 4 as the visiting side was reduced to 46-4.
Bravo and Marlon Samuels added 46 for the fifth wicket but both were bowled in successive overs by Yadav.
Bravo inside-edged a delivery pitched around off stump to be out for 30, and Samuels missed the line of a delivery that moved from the middle to off stump while on 25.
Captain Darren Sammy (18) and Carlton Baugh (13) could do little as the innings finished in little more than a session.
West Indies did better in the second innings, losing one wicket in the second session of the day before Sharma removed Barath and Edwards.
Barath struck 10 fours off 105 deliveries during his third test half-century before being dismissed immediately after tea, going for a big drive off Sharma and edging the ball to VVS Laxman at first slip.
Edwards’s second test half-century came off 128 balls with six fours and a huge six to long-on off Ojha. He fell lbw to Sharma.
Bravo then mixed caution with aggression to smash three sixes and a four during an 84-ball innings, while Chanderpaul batted himself in at the other end.
Barath conceded his team didn’t apply itself in the first innings.
“I think we did not bat as well as we should have in the first innings,” Barath said. “Basically we learnt from our mistakes in the first innings and we applied ourselves a bit more.”
Barath said Chanderpaul was the key player for them.
“He can bat through tomorrow and make it difficult for the Indian bowlers and take the game into the fifth day and make them bat again,” Barath said.