On February 26, 2000, Mark Boucher, South Africa’s wicketkeeper, walked out to bat at the Wankhede Stadium with the first Test against India in a fine balance. The spinners were zipping it off a wearing pitch and South Africa, requiring 35 runs with four in hand, needed an inspired knock. Boucher swept almost everything thrown at him and snatched the match away with daring 27 not out. Nearly six years on, and he was back to the same venue, just that this time he was addressing a pre-match press conference. His approach, though, hadn’t changed one bit as he swatted question after question with surprising confidence, and more importantly tons of cheek.The controversy surrounding the pitch at Kolkata was dismissed, the Sourav Ganguly issue was rekindled with a surprising perspective and the talk of pressure was hit straight back. “Reading the newspapers after the last game, there were comparisons to Kingsmead in Durban,” he said. “Whoever’s been to Kingsmead and compared the Eden Gardens wicket to that, doesn’t really know what they are talking about. Especially from a keepers’ point of view, I took most of the balls below my knees; at Kingsmead I take it over my head.”Boucher said that his team-mates were pleasantly surprised at the support they got at Kolkata, before going on to launch the most audacious stroke of all: “The support that we got at Eden Gardens in unbelievable,” he said. “We do understand that it’s because of the whole Sourav Ganguly issue. A couple of our players are wondering why he isn’t in the side and it’s a bit strange to us. We preferred bowling to the new batsmen than bowling to Ganguly.”He continued so quickly that it took some time for the mild chuckles to die down among the press. “We understand the pressure the Indian players are at the moment. It will be interesting to see how the youngsters come out and play. I don’t think the youngsters have been under such pressure in a home series, being 2-1 down. It’s a different story walking out to bat playing shots from the first ball, getting out and paying the consequences. From our side, not really a pressure situation but more eagerness to walk away with the series win.”Having set the tone, Boucher indulged in a bit more banter, something that appeared to be entirely psychological warfare. “I think controversy in the Indian team will be an advantage for us. Whenever a side’s losing there will be cracks that will open up and the big crack of Sourav Ganguly has opened up in the last few weeks. I think it didn’t really open up when you played Sri Lanka because not many cracks open up when a side is winning. We’ve put India under pressure, the Sourav Ganguly issue has reared its head and there are a couple of guys in their side who are skeptical about what’s actually going on. Trust me, we will try and use it to our advantage.”And did they have any plans for Sachin Tendulkar, playing on his home ground? Pat came the reply: “We got no particular plans for Tendulkar,” he said, “Polly [Shaun Pollock] has sorted his plans out to him, he’s got him three times and it will be nice if he can get him the fourth time as well. We understand that Tendulkar is a fabulous player but hopefully his big innings is not against us. Hopefully he has a bad series against us with us keeping him down. It’s going to be difficult for us because he’ll be in front of his home crowd, but he’ll also be under pressure because he hasn’t scored much in this series. We’ll try and put him under more pressure.”Boucher made sure the administrators had their share of things to think about as well. “We’ve been very surprised with the dew factor,” he continued. “We knew it was going to dew, but we didn’t know the wickets are going to change that much. Especially the second game, the wicket was very slow upfront and then greased up quite a bit which made it difficult for bowling in the second innings. Maybe playing day-night games at this time of the year isn’t the answer. I know it gets the crowds in but at the end of the day you need an even contest.”And he had absolutely no doubt which team had called the shots in this series, saying that South Africa had been the better team in all three departments. All through, there was a touch of insouciance, a slightly overly confident air and an attempt to throw in the gauntlet. The answers will probably resound louder if Boucher and his team-mates manage to walk the talk and return home with their first ODI series-triumph in India.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A back-to-the-wall classic from Jacques Rudolph, battling for more than seven hours, defied Australia through the day as South Africa, losing just three wickets on the final day, escaped with a draw in the first Test at Perth. Thwarting Shane Warne’s mesmeric wiles and countering the variations from the faster men, Rudolph constructed an all-important 102 not out and left the series wide open with two games to play.For most of the day, Rudolph was ably assisted by Justin Kemp, whose uncharacteristic obduracy ate up valuable time. The indefatigable Warne, who wheeled away for a 35-over marathon today, troubled all the batsmen with his prodigious turn but, with the pitch playing true, even he couldn’t break the brick wall that Rudolph resembled.South Africa were handicapped by the loss of Jacques Kallis before the game, but it was another Jacques, his replacement, who pulled them out of the fire. Leading the way with a rock-solid effort, adept while handling both spin and pace, and unfurling gorgeous cover-drives with a pendulum-smooth follow-through, Rudolph displayed the sort of application that has become the hallmark of his namesake, who watched from the dressing-room and beamed when the game was saved. He wasn’t lured by the wide teasers from the faster men, and he was impressive in the way he used his bat, and not pad, to nullify Warne’s guile.Resuming on 18, Rudolph was particularly impressive while handling Nathan Bracken’s swing, waiting for the last moment before committing himself to any stroke. Glenn McGrath’s yorkers were duly kept out and Brett Lee, who had a few erratic spells, was driven when the opportunity arose. By not withdrawing into a shell, and trying to score when the loose deliveries presented itself, Rudolph gave himself the best chance to bat through till the end.Support arrived in the form of Herschelle Gibbs, and both sacrificed run-scoring, while concentrating on preserving their wickets. Just 10 runs came in the first 10 overs with only the occasional hint of reverse-swing that created flutters. Lee was rewarded for his persistence, nailing a flat-footed Gibbs pushing away from his body and celebrating after Warne pulled off a smart low catch at first slip. Rudolph, though, waded through the bowling with a fine mix of attack and defence. Warne, coming on to bowl after a tidy opening spell from the faster bowlers, weaved his web and worked his way around Ashwell Prince’s pad-away policy – pushing him back and finally beating him with a big legbreak – before delivering the killer blow.From then on, though, Rudolph’s immovable presence was matched by Kemp’s resolute methods at the other end. Kemp often used his pad to smother the big turn that Warne extracted from the rough and showed that he could adapt to a situation that required him to buckle down and bat with restraint. He had his share of nervy moments – nudges eluded fielders, a run-out chance was botched and a couple of perilous lbw appeals were turned down, mainly because of Warne’s spinners pitching outside leg stump. Lee tried to set him up with a leg trap while McGrath probed in the corridor outside off. But he overcame all with a steely resolve, battling 166 balls for his maiden Test fifty, arguably his most important innings in his short career.He finally fell, inevitably to Warne, when he pushed hesitantly at a legbreak and watched Ricky Ponting complete a superb reflex catch at silly point. But all the faint hopes that the dismissal ignited were snuffed out as Mark Boucher assisted Rudolph in batting out till stumps. Rudolph brought up his fifth Test century towards the end of the piece and as Warne and Ponting congratulated him on reaching the landmark, both might have been reminded of that tense August evening at Old Trafford when another classic hundred kept Australia alive in the Ashes.How they were outHerschelle Gibbs c Warne b Lee 33 (3 for 109)
Ashwell Prince lbw b Warne 8 (4 for 138)
Justin Kemp c Ponting b Warne 55 (5 for 250)

All Today’s Yesterdays – August 19 down the years

August 18 | August 20

1975
Quite a memorable day in Test cricket – considering no play waspossible. What promised to be an exciting final day of the Ashes Testdoesn’t take place after the Headingley pitch had been vandalised bysupporters of prisoner George Davis. Australia needed 225 to win withseven wickets left. The draw and another in the next Test gave them theseries 1-0.1953
After a record wait of 18 years 362 days, and despitelosing the toss in all five Tests, England regained the Ashes.Fittingly, famous Middlesex partners Denis Compton and Bill Edrich wereat the crease when the winning runs were hit at The Oval, a boundary offpart-time bowler Arthur Morris. It was the first Ashes series to be wonby a professional captain (Len Hutton) – and the last Test appearance ofAustralia’s captain Lindsay Hassett, who first played against England in1938.1976
The tragic death from skin cancer of Ken Wadsworth, who was only29. Fair-haired and talented, he kept wicket in 33 Tests for NewZealand, making 96 dismissals. He averaged 59.00 with the bat in theCaribbean series of 1971-72, when New Zealand surprised everyone bydrawing all five Tests. But his crucial dropped catch cost New Zealandtheir first ever win over England, at Lord’s in 1973. Sadly, by the timeNew Zealand achieved that long-awaited victory, in 1977-78, KenWadsworth wasn’t around to share it.1985
Opening batsman Tim Robinson (148) and his captain David Gower(215) completed their partnership of 331 in only 343 minutes atEdgbaston. Gower, enjoying the high summer of his Test career, hit thehighest score by an England captain against Australia since WallyHammond’s 240 at Lord’s in 1938. England won by an innings to take a 2-1lead in the series.1992
Three players hit hundreds on the same day before Sri Lankadeclared at 547 for 8 against Australia at Colombo’s Sinhalese SportsClub. Asanka Gurusinha made 137, captain Arjuna Ranatunga 127 and newcap Romesh Kaluwitharana 132 not out. But in the second innings SriLanka’s last eight wickets fell for 37 runs to lose the match by 16.1957
Birth of Ian Gould, who kept wicket for England in the 1983 WorldCup. Although he never won a Test cap, he did have one moment of gloryat that level, coming on as substitute at Melbourne in 1982-83 andtaking the catch that removed Greg Chappell for 2. England won a famousvictory by just three runs. Gould captained Sussex when they won the1986 NatWest Trophy. After the final, his winning speech consisted of`Watch out, Soho.’1957
Birth of Hampshire’s Dutch seamer Paul-Jan Bakker, possibly theonly former ski instructor to open the bowling in a cricket World Cup.His best moment in the 1996 tournament came against England at Peshawar,when he bowled Alec Stewart for 5. Holland weren’t disgraced by a 49-rundefeat.Other birthdays
1950 Graeme Beard (Australia)
1973 Carl Bulfin (New Zealand)

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, has admitted that he is worried about the situation inside Zimbabwe but that the ICC has been assured by Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe cricket’s chairman, that its concerns will be addressed.In an exclusive interview with Zimbabwe’s Independent newspaper, Mani continued to stress the ICC’s stance that this was fundamentally a domestic issue while admitting that the ICC would no longer remain totally on the sidelines.”The ICC is clearly very concerned about a range of cricket issues in Zimbabwe,” he said. “We recently met with Chingoka and outlined a series of outstanding concerns to him. In doing this it was also indicated that these concerns must be promptly and effectively addressed. Chingoka has committed to raising these concerns at the first board meeting of the new committee.””The board of Zimbabwe Cricket had clearly become dysfunctional; the board was divided and meetings were not being held to discuss issues of genuine concern to its stakeholders due to a lack of quorum. While there is an inevitable link between sport and politics – the two areas are intertwined throughout the world – the operations of our member boards must be motivated by an overriding duty to serve the best interests of the sport. [Chingoka] is aware of the ICC’s position in this respect.”With regards to the overtly racist comments made by the head of the Sports & Recreation Commission, the body that appointed the interim board headed by Chingoka and admitted to cleansing it of white and Asians, Mani was less forthcoming. “The ICC takes a very firm stance on the issue of racism on and off the field of play. For example, you will recall that when allegations of racism were raised by the Zimbabwe players in 2004 they were investigated by an independent dispute resolution tribunal. The concerns raised to Chingoka included a detailed discussion of the process through which the composition of the committee was determined. The ICC has made certain recommendations on the composition of the Interim Committee so that it includes stakeholders from all the communities in Zimbabwe. We await the response of the interim committee.”That interim committee remains a problem in that it is headed by Chingoka, the man the players and many stakeholders wanted removed over allegations that there was widespread financial mismanagement. “The ICC has called on the committee to deal with these allegations in a transparent and open manner,” Mani argued. “Once this has been addressed, necessary action must also be taken to effectively deal with any issues that are identified.”

Graeme Smith, despite a poor run of form in Australia, has been retained as captain. Cricket South Africa today announced its list of 14 national contracted players for 2006-07.Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s CEO, said, “Cricket South Africa has the fullest confidence in Graeme Smith as captain of the Proteas. Everyone knows that he is going through a tough batting period. But this has happened to the best batsmen, including Adam Gilchrist recently. It is only a matter of time before Graeme is back to his best. We have seen that Graeme has outstanding leadership qualities, and we believe he has the talent and determination to come out of this batting slump. Cricket South Africa had no hesitation in confirming our confidence in him as captain and opening batsman.”Nicky Boje is the only omission from the list of contracted players of the previous season. Haroon Lorgat, convenor of the national selection panel, said, “We are sticking to our plans of developing a high-performing and consistent squad of national contracted players. Nicky has been omitted, and no other spinner has been contracted as we would like to see what develops in this area over the next few months. In any event, at this point Nicky is not available for the ICC Champions Trophy in India later this year. The scarcity of top class spinners remains a concern, and our high-performance programme has this as one of its main priorities. Johan Botha shows a lot of promise, but he has yet to establish himself at international level.”Lorgat also stressed that the selection of players for the World Cup in 2007 will be based purely on merit and that being contracted doesn’t guarantee an automatic selection in the squad.Contracted players Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Jacques Rudolph.

South Africa have announced their squads for the Twenty20 match and the one-day series against Australia – and they also took the step of announcing yet another vote of confidence in captain Graeme Smith following a disappointing tour of Australia. In his last eight one-dayers and eight Tests, Smith has averaged just over 20 in both forms of the game.”We wish to state that we have absolute confidence in Graeme Smith’s leadership and batting abilities,” Gerald Majola, the CEO of Cricket South Africa, said in a statement. “We believe that Graeme and the Proteas can turn the tables in South Africa.”It’s the second time in two weeks that Majola has come out in support of the captain. On February 7th, the day when the central contracts were announced, Majola insisted “Cricket South Africa has the fullest confidence in Graeme Smith as captain of the Proteas.”To this end Vince van der Bijl, the board’s manager, said that South Africa were going to adopt a more determined approach. “Both Graeme and Mickey [Arthur] are confident that the team effort will be more rutheless and that fielding errors have been eradicated.”Loots Bosman, Roger Telemachus and Neil McKenzie have all been selected in the Pro20 side, as part of the selectors’ aim to rest and rotate players before next year’s World Cup. The spinners Thadi Tshablala and Robin Peterson have also earned a call-up, with Peterson also making a return to the one-day squad.AB de Villiers has earned a recall to both squads after he was dropped for the VB Series in order to rediscover his touch in the shortened version of the game at domestic level. “No one doubts AB’s talents,” the chairman of selectors, Haroon Lorgat, said in a statement, “and the way he responded to our request to play in the domestic Pro20 games was outstanding.”Justin Kemp is in both squads, but his participation will be subject to passing a medical. Andre Nel will also undergo a fitness test this week, but is hoping to play in the ODIs. But Jacques Kallis has been excluded from both squads as he continues to recover from an elbow injury.Makhaya Ntini returns after injury, which will be a fillip to a South African side who followed up a disappointing 2-0 Test defeat to Australia by winning just three of eight one-day matches.South Africa Pro20 squad Graeme Smith (capt), Loots Bosman, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Robin Peterson, Roger Telemachus, Thandi Tshablala, Johan van der Wath.One-day squad Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Johan van der Wath.

A hike in monthly pensions for former players, plans to boost support to other sports, and venues for the 2006 Champions Trophy were some of the issues discussed in the BCCI’s working committee meeting in Mumbai on Sunday.Showing the money
Players who have figured in 25 Tests or more will receive up to Rs35,000 as pension amount while those who have played in less than 25 will get Rs25,000. The widows of Test cricketers will also receive the same amount. Former cricketers who played for India in Tests and ODIs after December 31, 1993 and all international umpires will receive a sum of Rs10,000 per month.Sharing the booty
Sports other than cricket will also benefit from the BCCI’s largesse, after they decided to set up a corpus fund worth Rs50 crore (approx US$11 million) to boost budding talents in the under-15 age group in various sports. “It’s the responsibility of the BCCI to support young talent in sports that figure in the Asian Games and Olympics,” Sharad Pawar, the president of the BCCI, said about this initiative. “The BCCI will pick the No.1 in the under-15 age group and help them in training in India and abroad. The modalities have to be worked out and the BCCI constitution has to be amended for this purpose. We will set aside Rs50 crores and add the proceeds of one off-shore match every year [around Rs40 crores] to build the corpus.”Ground work
The board, after negotiations with the ICC, confirmed four venues — Cricket Club of India, Mumbai, Jaipur, Mohali and Ahmedabad — for the Champions Trophy to be held in October-November this year. “The ICC has agreed to reduce the compensation money from US$1 million to under 200,000 dollars for the fourth venue,” informed Pawar. “The ICC rejected Chennai and Bangalore because of the threat of rain and the Cricket Association of Bengal informed the BCCI that it was not in a position to conduct the Champions Trophy games.”Pawar will choose eight venues in India for the 2011 World Cup and the “eight centres will have to send the compliance letter soon,” reported BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan. Also, a special committee headed by Chirayu Amin, the vice president, and comprising Arun Jaitley of the Delhi District Cricket Association, Lalit Modi, Bindra and Ajay Shirke, Maharashtra Cricket Association president, had been formed to come up with proposals to develop the 30 acres of land given by the Delhi Development Authority to the board.To cap it all
Agreeing with Sunil Gavaskar’s views on the India cap, Pawar announced that only the national players will wear the cap with the BCCI’s crest on it, while the support staff will not be allowed to wear it.Searching for talent
A special committee headed by former chief IS Bindra will give suggestions about optimum usage of the board’s funds, and will also offer recommendations on the Talent Research Development Wing (TRDW). “The committee will submit a preliminary report on all the related issues, including the scraping of the TRDW and the change in the format of the national selection panel [from five members to three],” said Pawar. Gavaskar had earlier criticised the proposed move to scrap the TRDW, asserting that the increase in the number of players from smaller towns was due to this system. He felt it would be a “big mistake” to scrap such a successful system.

Michael Vaughan has admitted that, although far from quitting the one-day game, he may have to do so in the future to continue playing at the highest level.”A lot of people are trying to make that decision for me,” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “The most important thing for me is to just get back playing cricket and then there are decisions I will probably have to make. I love playing cricket and while I am given the opportunity to play both forms of the game, I would love to continue.”But in the future if a stage comes whereby missing out on one form of the game will prolong my cricket for a few years then of course that decision will be made. But until I get back playing cricket with all the work I’m doing now it is very difficult to say what I’m going to do. I’ve just got to work hard and make sure I get back and play and then I’ll make a few decisions.”Vaughan, who is preparing for the three-Test series against Sri Lanka starting next month,has suffered a miserable winter with injuries. Most recently being forced out of the Test series in India with a knee problem. He was given an ultra-sound injection in his right knee on which he had undergone surgery in December before being ruled out of the series, which England drew 1-1. Although Vaughan has suffered various injuries as well as illness, he has had a series of knee problems since he first tweaked his right knee in the warm-up to the second Test against Australia in November 2002. He wrenched it in May 2004 before suffering cartilage damage in November last year while in Pakistan.Andrew Flintoff took over the captaincy in India and Vaughan acknowledged there were alternatives if he decides to quit. “Freddie did a tremendous job. It was a very difficult position he was put in with so many senior players leaving. And that is part of trying to build a good team. When the captain does go eventually – because you are not going to be captain forever – the team should continue and play good cricket. It should not be a massive loss that you have lost a captain but hopefully that is in the long-term future.”

The Sri Lankan tourists are braced for a pace onslaught in England’s unfamiliar early-season conditions, after arriving in the country for the start of their ten-week tour. After a two-week break to recharge their batteries, the coach, Tom Moody, and the captain, Mahela Jayawardene, fronted up to the press just hours after arriving at their team hotel near Lord’s.England lost 1-0 in the last encounter between the two teams, on the 2003-04 tour of Sri Lanka, but Moody accepted that the return leg would be a much tougher proposition for a young and largely inexperienced team.”Conditions are pretty extreme in Sri Lanka and we know our backyard inside out, but stepping out of that is a challenge,” he admitted. “In the past, that hasn’t been taken as well as it could be, but we’ve got some fresh faces on this trip who haven’t experienced the same issues away from home, so now’s the time to turn a leaf.”Sri Lanka travel as distinct second-favourites, certainly in the Test series, where the loss of two of their most experienced campaigners, Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya, will be felt keenly. “There are positives and negatives,” insisted Moody. “[Marvan and Sanath] are two wonderful players, but the door is open to a couple of youngsters who could be the future of Sri Lankan cricket.”At present no decision has been made as to which of the three openers – Michael Vandort, Upul Tharanga and Jehan Mubarak – will take their place in the first Test at Lord’s, but whoever it is will have to expect a hostile reception from England’s pace battery.

“We expect aggression,” stressed Moody, “and we’d be alarmed if we didn’t get it. The ball will move around, but it can move around everywhere in the world, even in Colombo at times. A lot of our players enjoy facing pace, and it’ll be no surprise if the ball whistles around their ears. Sri Lankans are renowned as wonderful players of spin, but when they’ve come across Brett Lee or Shane Bond, they’ve equipped themselves very well.”Moody’s assertion was backed up by his captain, who pointed to the team’s recent visit to Australia, where they reached the final of the VB Series and even won the first match of the rubber. “It was one of the best Australian summers for Sri Lanka ever,” insisted Jayawardene. “Brett was bowling very quick, on very quick tracks, but we settled ourselves and knew exactly what to do. We worked very hard to get used to those conditions, and we will do the same here.”Moody’s own experience of England will prove invaluable to his team’s preparations. He was a regular at Worcestershire throughout the 1990s, and won the World Cup with Australia in May and June 1999. “It’s more of an advantage than a disadvantage,” he conceded, “but the bottom line is how the team executes its own game-plan. Preparation-wise, we’ll be well-equipped.”Though Moody insisted Sri Lanka were here to win, more realistically they are here to learn and compete. “We’re in a transitional time as a team, with retirements to key players in both forms of game,” he said. “Our main focus is the first three Test matches, then we’ll get our head around one-day cricket, but we’re here to prepare the next generation.””In one-day cricket we are planning towards [the World Cup in] 2007, and we’ve got certain players earmarked in that campaign. We’ve come here to win, and compete against a good English side in challenging conditions, but along the way, we’re here to develop as a team and take advantage of the experience that we get from playing here in England.”In the circumstances, a huge onus is once again going to rest on the shoulders of Sri Lanka’s veteran bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, who has been sidelined through injury in recent weeks. “He’s got 600 wickets so of course he’ll be a key bowler,” said Jayawardene of Murali, “but Vaas coming back is great. He’s got inside knowledge of English conditions, and he’s a great asset because he knows exactly what to do here.”The rest of the attack is somewhat raw by comparison, but Jayawardene was upbeat about their prospects. “These are the young guys who will take us into the next five-six years of Sri Lankan cricket,” he said. “Guys like [Farveez] Maharoof are going well, [Nuwan] Zoysa is coming back to form, Lasit Malinga is awkward to face anywhere in the world, so he’ll be something new, while Malinga Bandara, the legspinner, had a good season at Gloucester last year.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

In yet another tight finish the third Test was drawn, but not before a rollercoaster day tested weak hearts and tickled hyperactive ones. Brian Lara wiped out much of the criticism of his refusal to enforce the follow-on by setting India 392 off 88 overs – the best a captain could have done in the circumstances – and was given more than a few scares as India finished on 298 for 4, 94 short of the target.Chasing scores of this kind happens only in the rarest of rare situations and yet with India’s calculated assault on the target – built with the meticulousness and ingenuity of a mountaineer attempting a high-altitude Himalayan ascent – there was more than one moment when India were in the hunt.The Indian chase was split into three distinct phases. First was the setting up of a platform – not unlike establishing base camp – through Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer. West Indies’ generosity continued as Chris Gayle fluffed a sitter at slip and let Sehwag off on five. Cutting and punching for off-side boundaries, ducking and weaving against the short-pitched stuff, Sehwag, ably assisted by Jaffer, brought up the 50 partnership off 93 balls. Then the tempo was quickened and the century partnership came up, with the second 50 coming off only 55 balls. At lunch India were 109 for no loss from 23 overs, pretty much exactly what they would have liked.Then, completely against the run of play, Sehwag, who had made 65, was trapped in front first ball after lunch by a Corey Collymore delivery that was full, straight and coming in just a touch. This, of course, meant that India had to rethink their plans. VVS Laxman, coming in to bat on the back of a first-innings century, eased himself in, never attempting any risks in the pursuit of quick runs. When Jaffer, who had timed the ball with the felicity you normally associate with Laxman, was dismissed, searching for a ball outside the off and edging to slip, India were 143 for 2, still a long way from their target.The redoubtable Dravid joined his old pal at the crease, and the two began to construct a partnership that just about kept them in touch with the four-run-per-over mark – in mountaineering parlance like strategic reconnaissance from base camp, making short forays up, gauging what effort would be needed to attempt a final dash to the peak. The run-rate, to begin with, was not special, but once both batsmen had ensured that they got a good measure of a pitch that was playing as true as a fifth-day surface can be expected to, the scoring became easier.The modus operandi was simple – pick off a boundary early in the over and then pick up ones and twos to bolster things. Somewhere into the final session, there was a shift. Laxman began to take a few more risks, looking to score off anything that was wide, and in anticlimactic fashion, fell. He slashed a full, wide ball from Pedro Collins to Lara at slip. Laxman had made 65 and his partnership with Dravid was worth an even 100.Out walked Mahendra Singh Dhoni, seemingly with murder on his mind. He smashed Collins’ first ball into the top tier of the stands at long-off and as easy as anything the field was spread out. With the field scattered Dravid and Dhoni were able to play out a passage of play relatively untested. Dhoni crashed another six several overs later, but when he was out, brilliantly caught by Gayle at cover, for 20 off 32 balls, India still needed 119 runs to win, in less than 17 overs, and the game, as a contest, was all but over.

Dravid, who once again had batted superbly, was unbeaten on 68 as India finished on 298 for 4 when play was called off. But if India had threatened to make a match of it with an imaginative effort on the final day, it was all set up by Lara’s declaration. West Indies, thanks to a brisk 66 from Daren Ganga, went from an overnight 113 for 4 to 172 for 6. In all they had used just 32 overs in their second innings, and had batted with positive intent all through the early passage of play on the final day. It set things up well, but the result was no different from the first two Tests, a draw, and it’s now all to play for in the final Test at Jamaica starting on Friday.

West IndiesDwayne Bravo c Sreesanth b Kumble 9 (120 for 5)
Marlon Samuels st Dhoni b Harbhajan 20 (152 for 6)
IndiaVirender Sehwag lbw b Collymore 65 (109 for 1)
Wasim Jaffer c Gayle b Collins 54 (143 for 2)
VVS Laxman c Lara b Collins 63 (243 for 3)
Mahendra Dhoni c Gayle b Taylor 20 (273 for 4)