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India, West Indies in exciting draw

Nov 27, 2011 Sports

 

Mumbai, (AFP): Indian spinners Pragyan Ojha and Ravichandran Ashwin plotted a sensational West Indies collapse before the third and final Test ended in a thrilling draw with scores level on the last day on Saturday. Left-arm spinner Ojha finished with 6-47 and off-spinner Ashwin with 4-34 as the West Indies were dismissed for 134 in their second innings in the morning after losing their last eight wickets for 43 runs.
India finished at 242-9 chasing a 243-run target, with young middle-order batsman Virat Kohli scoring an impressive 63 and explosive opener Virender Sehwag riding his luck to smash a 65-ball 60. It was only the second time that a Test had been drawn with scores level, the other match being between England and Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 1996.
The hosts needed three runs to win in the last over with two wickets in hand, but fast bowler Fidel Edwards conceded only two to prevent India from making a clean sweep. India won the first Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.
“Some of the shots we played were not called for and we paid the price for it. I know the coach will definitely talk about it and, like I said, we have to bat well in both innings of a Test,” said West Indies skipper Darren Sammy.  “All sorts of things were going through my mind in the end. The tied Test came to the mind. I was speaking to Kirk Edwards – ‘win or draw’ – we can’t lose this. Once you have belief, there is a possibility of achieving that.”
A pair of below-par batting performances marked the 17-wicket day, with the West Indies collapsing in their second innings in the morning and then the famed Indian batting line-up struggling to achieve the target.
India were 189-6 at one stage after losing Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir (12), Rahul Dravid (33), Sachin Tendulkar (three), Venkatsai Laxman (31) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (13) before Kohli raised his team’s victory hopes.
“Most of our dismissals came at the wrong time. Some kind of partnerships were going on and then we lost a wicket. The pressure was back on us, but it was a good game of cricket,” said Dhoni.  “It (the pitch) started to turn in the morning. Till yesterday, everything was fine but something happened in the morning and it started to turn. It turned out to be a close game.”
Sehwag, who was dropped thrice, added 82 for the second wicket with Dravid before being caught by Sammy at short fine-leg while attempting a reverse-paddle sweep off leg-spinner Devender Bishoo.
Tendulkar, who needs just one more hundred to complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was caught by Kirk Edwards at mid-wicket off part-time spinner Marlon Samuels. The West Indies started the day with an overall lead of 189 runs with eight wickets in hand before faltering against the Indian spin duo.
The West Indies, leading by 108 runs on the first innings, batted just 23.2 overs in the morning before they were all out after being 91-2 at one stage, with Darren Bravo top-scoring with 48.
The tourists had only their poor shot-selection to blame for their dismal performance, with none of their batsmen applying himself on a fifth-day track offering turn and bounce. The Indian spin duo maintained their supremacy over the West Indies batsmen, with Ashwin grabbing 22 wickets in his debut Test series and Ojha 20 in three matches.
Scores: India 482 (Ashwin 103, Tendulkar 94, Dravid 82) and 242 for 9 (Kohli 63, Sehwag 60) drew with West Indies 590 (Bravo 166, K Edwards 86, Powell 81) and 134 (Ojha 6-47, Ashwin 4-34).

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