First Day of the second test saw 13 wickets falling. Nothing unusual at Barbados when India is batting. Cricket fans who knows Indian History at Barbados will feel the same. Yet WI ending the day at 30/3 after restricting Indians for 201, Captain Sammy realised how lucky he was to win the toss and avoid batting first.
WI win the Toss
Considering their poor history at Barbados, Indians would have wanted to bat second, at least to reduce the damage. But Sammy won the toss and at the end of the day West Indies fan must be thankful to Sammy for that. If batting in the dying hours of the first day could make them lose 3 quick wickets, then batitng first may have let WI perform worse than what India did.
India Bats
Indian were put to bat. Their poor history at Barbados even when they had Fab Four playing for India during West Indies tour of 2002 would have been enough reasons to made them nervous. The poor First Test batting performance just added salts to the wounds making them more nervous.
WI made merrry with Rampaul feeling almost being in the club of WI greats of Garner/Patterson/Hall/Walsh/Marshall/Holding and others. At lunch his performance read 5 maidens 4 runs and 3 wickets in the number of overs he bowled. Edwards supported him well. Indians were 44/4 at lunch. Raina had just joined solid-going Laxman.
Post Lunch Session belonged to the 5th wicket pair. They went on add century stand of 117 runs. Bishoo struck. Edwards joined. Except Laxman’s 82 and Raina’s 53 Indians again folded meekly. Dhoni, Kohli and others are just unable to read the line and face the pace. India somehow crossed 200-mark.
Rampaul, Edwards and Bishoo took 3 wickets each while captain Sammy took the most important Indian wicket of Dravid. The centurion of first match could score only 5 runs before he was caught behind.
WI Bat – Indian Bowlers Attack
West Indies batsmen realised that the game belongs to them now. But Indian trio of pacers showed that they are not bad. Ishant sent first-match hero Barath back in 4th over, Praveen sent Simmons home in 5th over and in the last over of the day Mithun scalped Darren Bravo. Now, Sarwan in the company of Chanderpaul is the best hope for Carribean fans to get their team back in the game.
80 overs 13 wickets
The day saw 13 wickets falling, one more than the first day of First test of the series. Still, the writing is on the wall. The match will provide a result. Only rain can help the probable loser to avoid the fate. The Match may not last even three full days. That gives hope of getting the result despite some rains. Indians batted 68 overs to struggle for 201 runs. WI took just 12 overs to lose top 3 batsmen.
Impressive Raina
Laxman’s 85 was expected in the situation. Being the vice-captain there is added responsibility on him. Yet, he has been used to such pressure situation and giving good performances. But the performance of Raina must impress all, and shock some too. Now, in three innings he has aggregated the highest total by any Indian. He has alredy hit two half-centuries and even his dismissal in second inning of First test was a disputed one. Great going boy!! He can be almost sure of the 6th spot in Indian batting now in England.
Prospect for Second Day
Sarwan and Chanderpaul partnership is the biggest hope for West Indies. Others can score some runs, but cannot take WI into big lead. India would be overjoyed and get some lead in first innings, despite scoring only 201 runs. The pitch will slow down. But, the first session of the game would probably decide the match winner.
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