India cruises to victory in first Test against West Indies

Mumbai, October 12: The only part of the bat that played a role was the edge, as India's spinners wove a spell around the West Indians and wrapped up the first Test in three-and-a-half days.

The Caribbean crew managed to scrape and scrounge up 188 runs in their second stint, but it was over a hundred too little to even make India bat again.

India's huge innings and 112-run win was by no stretch of imagination their biggest or best, coming as it did on a wicket that seemed conditioned to assist the spinners and against a side that is struggling to come together as a unit. But it was a thoroughly professional performance by a steadily improving team.

Harbhajan Singh, who had stopped opener Wavell Hinds in full flow on Friday evening, seemed to have found his rhythm under the continuous cloud cover and the batsmen did not have a clue how to play him.

Seeming in a hurry (perhaps the Indians were aware of the predictions of a cyclone in the afternoon that never materialised), Harbhajan scalped six West Indians on the day and his 19.3 overs went for just 24 runs.

Anil Kumble from the other end was also a constant irritant and finished with three wickets from the innings, making it seven for the match and pushing his Test wickets tally to 340.

After Harbhajan removed Chris Gayle early on, the West Indians would have hoped that the Guyanese triumvirate of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper stuck around and frustrated the Indians.

Sarwan, with four fifties in seven innings against India, relishes the Indian attack and Hooper and Chanderpaul pooled over 1100 runs against India earlier in the summer.

Chanderpaul was dropped on 21 by Virender Sehwag at forward short leg, then survived a run-out and finally ran out of partners. Hooper, normally comfortable against spin, lasted 12 minutes for his 1. He perished trying to drive Harbhajan, spooning the ball back to the offie instead. And what can really be said about Sarwan's tortuous stint?

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly had said earlier that Sarwan was suspect against spin and Ganguly was right. Sarwan was in all sorts of problems against Kumble, and in the latter's fifth over of the day, was beaten all six times by a ball that seemed to be doing some joyous jig of its own. He ended his and everyone's agony in Kumble's next over, trying to lift him over cover but holing out straight to Sachin Tendulkar.

Whoever knew what was happening on Saturday wasn't a West Indian. The Caribbean think-tank should be worried about the lack of discipline showed by most of the team. India completely dominated the Test, and despite a 41-run partnership between Mahendra Nagamootoo and Chanderpaul, Saturday never looked like it would be any different.

Pedro Collins kept the team and an expectant crowd waiting for 44 minutes after lunch, but after swinging and missing a bit, finally gave Harbhajan his sixth wicket of the innings when he edged to Rahul Dravid (fresh after a day off the field due to dehydration) in the slips.

Cameron Cuffy lasted eight minutes more, as Harbhajan rounded off his 10th five-wicket haul in 29 matches with his seventh wicket of the match.

Later asked about the his team's poor overseas record, an angry Hooper said people tended to forget that the West Indians had just beaten India over the summer. "Why don't you ask Sourav Ganguly that question?" he added as he left.

For the moment at least, Ganguly, who is three wins away from overtaking Mohd Azharuddin as India's most successful skipper ever, would probably only laugh.