Column

West Indies kept India waiting a long time for their win and almost made them bat again. Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels played some cracking shots and had a terrific partnership, which brought back memories of the days when the West Indian batsmen were kings. The effort in the second innings showed tremendous character and that was what was missing in the first innings. To lose eight wickets in the session before lunch on Day Three was inexplicable, for if anything the pitch did nothing to help the bowlers and once the batsmen woke up to that fact, the Indian bowlers found it harder going in the second innings. That second innings will benefit the younger players in both the teams for it showed them what a bit of patience and determination can do.

The West Indian batsmen were shown the way by Barath and Kirk Edwards with their near century partnership. Both did not go into a shell nor were they overly aggressive and they picked runs without looking troubled. That would have made others waiting for their turn to bat in the dressing room feel a lot better, as well as give them the belief that there were no devils in the pitch. That example was carried on with even more conviction by Bravo and Samuels and their partnership looked as if they would force India to bat again. But, as has been seen with West Indies batting in recent times when a partnership is broken, then there is a collapse and that was exactly what happened and the Indians did not have to bat again.

For the Indian bowlers too this was a good learning curve. Remember between the four of them they have hardly played 50 Test matches, so they are still pretty inexperienced and learning their craft. So to be kept on the field and made to think how to get well set batsmen out was a good thing from a long term point of view. Bowling to a left and right hand combination that was not afraid to play the lofted shot and play the aggressive stroke is always a test of temperament, as well as skills and it is here that the Indian bowlers have made progress. The pitch had eased up considerably and in such situations the bowlers have to be patient and be ready to concede a few runs too. The spinners did very well in the circumstances, but the most impressive was Umesh Yadav, who bowled with fire and looked like getting a wicket every time he came on to bowl. He has the speed and the accuracy too, and his use of the bouncer also is a clever one for he doesn’t bowl it every over. Once he perfects the yorker he will get even well set batsmen out. His pace has shown that the tail is hardly wagging which used to be where Indian teams have stumbled in the past, and that is a big bonus for Dhoni and the selectors as they look ahead to the Australian tour which will definitely be far more testing than this series.

India have won the series and they have the chance now to look at some other promising players and see how they shape up, for it won’t be easy to do so in Australia.

------ The writer is a former India skipper