WI snatch draw in thriller
Published:Sunday | November 27, 2011 | 12:00 AM
MUMBAI, India (CMC):West
Indies snatched a fortuitous draw in dramatic circumstances after
another dreadful batting collapse had put them on the verge of losing
the third and final Test against India here yesterday.
With India
needing three runs off the last six balls of the game, pacer Fidel
Edwards bowled a superb final over to restrict the hosts to 242 for
nine, one short of their winning target.
The result marked only
the second time in Test history a match had finished in a draw with the
scores level, following England's stalemate with Zimbabwe 15 years ago.
Earlier,
West Indies had virtually thrown away any chance of saving the game
when they were dismissed for 134, after resuming the final day at the
Wankhede Stadium on 81 for two.
They were tormented by left-arm
spinner Pragyan Ojha who claimed six for 47 and off-spinner Ravi Ashwin,
who snared four for 34, to lose their last eight wickets for 53 runs
before lunch.
Opener Kraigg Brathwaite, starting the day on 34,
added just one before falling in the day's fifth over and Darren Bravo
carried his overnight unbeaten 27 to 48 before also perishing.
Their
dismissals opened the floodgates and West Indies collapsed in heap,
leaving the Test wide open, with India chasing 243 off a possible 64
overs in a little over two sessions.
half centuries
Middle-order
batsman Virat Kohli (63) and opener Virender Sehwag (60) then stroked
half centuries as India seemed en route to a comfortable victory.
Sehwag's
knock was a typically breezy one off 65 balls with eight fours and gave
India the early control, especially after he added 82 for the second
wicket with Rahul Dravid (33).
However, India lost wickets in
clusters. Cruising at 101 for one, they lost three wickets for 12 runs
to tumble to 113 for four. When they rebuilt to reach 165 for four, they
again lost wickets steadily to decline to 239 for eight.
Kohli,
who hit three fours and a six off 114 balls, was carrying India's run
chase but his dismissal - caught at backward point by captain Darren
Sammy off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo - was perhaps the turning point at
224 for seven.
The odds, however, remained in their favour at the
start of the last over, with first innings century-maker Ashwin (14)
and debutant Varun Aaron (two not out) at the crease, and West Indies
needing two wickets to win.
Edwards kept Aaron scoreless off the
first three balls, but a single off the fourth delivery gave Ashwin the
all-important strike.
He failed to score off the fifth and with
India needing two runs for victory off the final delivery, was run out
attempting a second run after clattering Edwards down to long on.
celebrations sparked
The
draw sparked celebrations among the West Indies players who knew they
had rescued some pride from a game they seemed destined to lose at one
stage.
Pacer Ravi Rampaul finished with three for 56, Bishoo two for 65 while off-spinner Marlon Samuels chipped in with two for 93.
No such drama had been envisaged when Brathwaite and Bravo started the day with West Indies 189 runs ahead overall.
Even
when the 19-year-old Brathwaite scooped Ojha to Tendulkar at point at
91 for three, the Windies still seemed poised to bat through the
session.
Bravo, continuing from where he left off in the first
innings, spanked some beautiful off-side boundaries and appeared headed
for another half-century when he drove a simple catch back to Ojha.
It
was then the Windies innings plunged into terminal decline. Samuels
charged Ojha off the fourth ball he faced and was stumped without
scoring and with five runs added, Carlton Baugh was bowled by Ashwin for
one, at 117 for six.
Left-hander Kieran Powell missed a straight
ball from Ashwin and was lbw for 11, Rampaul holed out in the deep off
Ojha without scoring before Sammy (10) and Bishoo fell in consecutive
deliveries to Ashwin.
India clinched the series 2-0.
West
Indies cricket captain Darren Sammy (right) celebrates with teammate
Fidel Edwards after the end of third Test against India in Mumbai,
India, yesterday. The third and final Test ended in a draw yesterday.
India won the three-Test series 2-0.
SCOREBOARD
West Indies 1st Innings 590India 1st Innings 482 West Indies 2nd innings
(overnight 81 for two)
| A. Barath c Laxman b Ojha | 3 |
| K. Brathwaite c Tendulkar b Ojha | 35 |
| K. Edwards st Dhoni b Ojha | 17 |
| D. Bravo c and b Ojha | 48 |
| K. Powell lbw b Ashwin | 11 |
| M. Samuels st Dhoni b Ojha | 0 |
| +C. Baugh b Ashwin | 1 |
| D. Sammy c wkp Dhoni b Ashwin | 10 |
| R. Rampaul c Tendulkar b Ojha | 0 |
| F. Edwards not out | 2 |
| D. Bishoo lbw b Ashwin | 0 |
| Extras (b3, lb4) | 7 |
| Total (all out; 57.2 overs) | 134 |
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Barath), 2-30 (K Edwards), 3-91 (Brathwaite), 4-112 (Bravo), 5-112 (Samuels), 6-117 (Baugh), 7-120 (Powell), 8-129 (Rampaul), 9-134 (Sammy), 10-134 (Bishoo)
Bowling: Ojha 27-5-47-6, Sharma 8-2-15-0, Aaron 4-0-23-0, Ashwin 15.2-0-34-4, Sehwag 2-0-3-0, Tendulkar 1-0-5-0.
India 2nd innings
| G. Gambhir c Sammy b F Edwards | 12 |
| V. Sehwag c Sammy b Bishoo | 60 |
R. Dravid c sub (D Ramdin) b Samuels
| S. Tendulkar c K Edwards b Samuels | 3 |
| VVS Laxman c Barath b Rampaul | 31 |
| V. Kohli c Sammy b Bishoo | 63 |
| +M.S. Dhoni c K Edwards b Rampaul | 13 |
| I. Sharma b Rampaul | 10 |
| V. Aaron not out | 2 |
| Extras (nb1) | 1 |
| Total (9 wkts, 64 overs) | 242 |
Did not bat: P Ojha
Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Gambhir), 2-101 (Sehwag), 3-106 (Tendulkar), 4-113 (Dravid), 5-165 (Laxman), 6-189 (Dhoni), 7-224 (Kohli), 8-239 (Sharma), 9-242 (Ashwin)
Bowling: Edwards 7-0-28-1, Rampaul 16-1-56-3, Samuels 25-0-93-2, Bishoo 16-0-65-2.
Result: Match drawn.
Series: India won three-match series 2-0.
Man-of-the-Match: Ravi Ashwin.
Man-of-the-Series: Ravi Ashwin.
Umpires: A Hill, B Oxenford.