A chance for the West Indies to soar
Apurva Agarwal - 14 April 2002

With India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar back in the pavilion within two sessions, as opposed to his West Indian counterpart, Carl Hooper, who occupied the crease for a solid four sessions, the Test seems to have been very much decided at the close of the third day. It also seems to have set the tone for the entire series. The competition between two of the supposedly weakest teams in world cricket today is headed only one way - unless you are an avid and optimistic Indian supporter who won't have any of it.

Past experience strongly suggests that the West Indies will probably run away with the Test match, given that they have enjoyed the upper hand for the most part. The home team amassed a psychologically massive 501, dismissed the Indian top-order for under 300, and appear all the more keen to further fall upon a relatively weak opposition under the newly aggressive Hooper.

To be fair, it is not that the Indians who have performed badly in this game; it is just that the West Indians have simply outplayed them. To have initially batted with such determination on the very first day of the Test series is a big psychological advantage, not just for this match but for the upcoming games too. The Indians now know that they have to bowl a lot better if they intend to restrict the Windies to lower scores, and that, of course, is bound to give them a hard time. Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have already displayed their brilliance, and Brian Lara must be hungry for runs after his layoff; it all spells doom and danger for the tourists.

Then, as if their batting performance were not sufficient to give their supporters reason for cheer, their pace battery excelled too, successfully dismissing the opposition's top-order, including their strongest batsman who, at least by his high personal standards, went rather cheaply. Where Tendulkar was expected to equal or, at least, near Hooper's performance, he was only able to muster 79 runs vis-à- vis the skipper's 233.

If India intend to make an impression here, they will need more dream batting performances from Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. In other words, it is the Indian batting that will either make them proud or let them down. Laxman reversed India's fortunes against Australia, and much is expected of him now. Tendulkar's invaluable contributions to the national cause need no mention really, and he will probably be India's top performer at the end of the series.

Sourav Ganguly, who should ideally have shaped himself into a match- winner by now, is miserably struggling and undoubtedly is a very expensive member of the team at number three. A stronger batting lineup, thus, is the need of the hour, with more consistent performers like Tendulkar in the side. If the experienced players like Ganguly are unable to deliver, then the selectors should not feel shy to give recent achievers like Dinesh Mongia and Wasim Jaffer an opportunity to prop up the side's kismet.

In order to win here, a topic to which much analysis has been devoted, Tendulkar, Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sanjay Bangar and Mongia have to come good in combination, in addition to performing well at their respective individual levels. Between the five of them, they have to categorically and consistently score in excess of 300 runs, if not more. In the bowling department, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh are the key to Indian success, as the West Indies are seasoned players of pace, and only an unconventional bowling approach, with a focus on spin instead of fast bowling, can have any impact on rattling their batting prowess.

Besides that, India can only hope to draw the series in some way, if not lose outright. India, as the jinx goes, have not won a series outside the subcontinent in the last 16 years, and they have not shown any signs of reversing the trend thus far in the Caribbean. Although three days is too short a period to affirmatively tell who will win the series, it is by all means a good indicator to determine the future turn of events.

In Hooper, Lara and Chanderpaul, the current Windies side should finally bury their poor recent past and thereby re-emerge as a soaring eagle on the cricketing map. And what better time to do so than now - against a struggling Indian team, in front of home crowds in their own backyard, and as much conviction as they can bring to bear.

The views expressed above are solely those of the guest contributor and are carried as written, with only minor editing for grammar, to preserve the original voice. These contributed columns are solely personal opinion pieces and reflect only the feelings of the guest contributor. Their being published on CricInfo.com does not amount to an endorsement by CricInfo's editorial staff of the opinions expressed.
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