India blew away their chance to take control of the fourth and decisive Testagainst the West Indies with an inept batting display to be bowled out for apaltry 200 on the opening day on Friday.
The Indians, looking for their first series win in the Caribbean in 35 years,frittered away the advantage of the toss as they struggled to cope with thebounce of the Sabina Park pitch.
Only Rahul Dravid showed the craft and application needed to survive theearly moisture of a track that was expected to keep low and turn as the matchprogressed.
The captain stood tall among the ruins with a patient 81 that consumed 215balls spread and rescued his side from a disastrous 91 for six at one stage.
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Lending valuable support to Dravid in the recovery act was fellow BangaloreanAnil Kumble who added 93 runs with his skipper for the seventh wicket.
Kumble's 45 was the second highest score of the innings in which only threeother batsmen touched double figures and none crossed 20.
Twenty-two-year-old Jerome Taylor, who troubled the visitors in the thirdTest, kept them hopping with his lively pace.
The local lad, playing in only his 10th Test, picked his maiden fiver, ahandsome 5-50.
India lost its openers by the fourth over and the first six batsmen by teabefore the rescue act by the seventh wicket pair allowed them to recover theirbreath.
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Dravid batted for five and three quarters of an hour and faced 215 balls,hitting 10 fours in his knock.
His most productive period was the post tea session when he added 46 runs tothe 35 he made from four hours.
Kumble was excellent at the crease and it was a measure of his new-foundconfidence that he smashed no less than seven fours in his 45 from 101 balls.
He departed as he has so many times in this series, going back to a risingdelivery and guiding it on to his stumps.
The initial breakthrough was the handiwork of Pedro Collins who made VirenderSehwag (0) flick one straight into the midriff of Ramnaresh Sarwan at forwardshort leg.
India were so hard done by the juicy wicket that by lunch it had scored only29 runs from 29 overs, 13 of which were maiden!
The afternoon session, if anything, was worse as four wickets fell for theaddition of only a few runs.
V.V.S. Laxman (18) departed in the very first over after lunch when he droveat a delivery from Dwayne Bravo and was caught in the gully region.
Yuvraj Singh (19) hit a few meaty blows including two successive fours offBravo before he missed a straighter one from Taylor and was adjudged out legbefore wicket.
Mohammad Kaif (13) had trouble in adjusting to the bounce and pace of thewicket and fended off a catch in the slip cordon after surviving two earlierchances in similar fashion.
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It was a day when paceman Taylor reproduced the West Indian terror of past byclaiming four wickets in a hostile spell of fast bowling.
Taylor first put Wasim Jaffer (1) through the wringer before taking him outwith his eighth delivery. It was a delivery which was shaped in towards thebatsmen but straightened to peg back the off-stump of the elegant opener.
Taylor reserved his best for the afternoon session.
Bowling with venom on a pitch where his fellow quicks struggled to get theball above the knee roll, the Jamaican quick made Yuvraj double up to atoe-crusher.
Taylor reared one up to Kaif so alarmingly that the right-hander had nooption but to balloon a catch in the slip cordon.
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The young paceman rounded up the day by making Sreesanth (0) hop and play onto his stumps and then forcing an edge from Munaf Patel (0) into wicketkeeperDenesh Ramdin's gloves.
Corey Collymore (2-17) was not too distant a second in the bowling honours ashe got rid of Mahendra Singh Dhoni (3) early and then produced his trademarkaway-swinger which sent Dravid packing in the final minutes of the game.
It appeared for a while that Dravid would make the most of his decision tobat first on a wicket full of moisture and consequent life to put his batsmenthrough hell.
Dravid's association with the admirable Kumble was the cornerstone of India'sresistance after its batting came apart at the seams against the all-pace attackof the West Indies.
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PTI
