It’s going pretty much by the script. India chose to bat and ended the day at 235/9. The pitch offered some movement and a slow, loopy bounce. I thought the bowlers bowled very well. The control showed by Collymore and Bravo was remarkable. The Indians, on the other hand, showed none.

No batsman scored even a half-century. Rahul top scored with a dour 49 off 173 balls, fighting a lackluster but crucial battle. That was the level of application required on this pitch. I have said many times before that this team does not have the stomach for that kind of battle, sustained for long periods. The batsmen can graft and fight for short spells only.

Sehwag’s innings typifies that. After Jaffer was out for 1(10/1), Sehwag was caning the bowling. India reached 50 in only 9.5 overs, with Sehwag on a run a ball 36 with 7 fours. Had he shown some responsibility and circumspection, this match would have been heading in a very different direction. Instead he chose to give it all away, and the team paid heavily for that. Rahul and VVS struggled, to say the least. Consider this, it took the team 26.2 overs to score the next 50 runs for the loss of VVS. Apart from Jaffer, all the top batsmen got starts that were promptly wasted. Sehwag was the only batsman who dominated the bowling. Teams are successful when the batsman in form scores big and makes it count. Sehwag, however, follows his own rulebook, which is a blank sheet with no rules whatsoever! This kind of inning is the hallmark of a show off, not a champion.

The West Indian bowlers bowled well and with great control throughout the day. Yuvraj was made to look silly by Mohammed who bowled him. A score above 200 was possible only by some brave batting by Kumbles (21) and Sreesanth (24 n.o.).

Irfan and Bhajji have been ‘rested’. In plain speak, it means dropped. Irfan it seems, is yet to clear the cobwebs in his head, after the mauling he received in the last few games. What does he expect? Even my club batsmen would consign such drivel to the dustbins outside the ground. Kumble leads the bowling along with 3 tyros – Munaf, Sreesanth and VRV. I expect the pitch to ease out for the next couple of days and the rookies are going to be tested, to say the least.

If the Windies take a sizeable lead in this inning, we will lose this test. Our only chance is to restrict them and then hope the pitch plays into Kumble’s hands in the last inning! Even then, I do not expect the Windies to lose this one.