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Kumble puts West Indies
on the backfoot

Faisal Shariff

India finished the opening day of the second Test on 31 without loss, after the West Indies were bowled out for 167, with Anil Kumble picking his 20th five-wicket haul and finishing with five wickets for 30 runs.

India trail the tourists by 136 runs, but with Virender Sehwag at the crease and Sachin Tendulkar soon to follow, on one of his favourite grounds, the second day at the Chidambaram stadium, on Friday, will surely witness a full house.

Morning session

"There's not a blade of grass on the wicket and it looks fairly dry, even drier than Bombay. I expect it'll start turning square pretty soon and the spinners will have a big role to play," said West Indies skipper Carl Hooper, after a look at the newly-laid track at the Chidambaram in Chennai.

Next thing you know he drops his main spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo and hands Jamaican off-spinner Gareth Breese his maiden Test cap. Not that Nagamootoo had a great outing against the Indians in the first Test, but given the slim spin resources at his disposal, the decision seemed bizarre.

Cameron Cuffy was the other exclusion. Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson (20), whose only claim to fame is a hat-trick, taken in the Under-19 World Cup two years ago, also made his Test debut.

With its spinners in top form and all the top batsmen among runs, India went in with an unchanged side.

Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath began well, bowling outside off and mixing them up with short-pitched deliveries. A single run came of the first seven overs, which included six consecutive maidens. Chris Gayle scored his first runs after facing 21 deliveries -- a delectable straight drive past the bowler for four.

The wicket, which snoozed when the seamers bowled, woke up as soon as Harbhajan Singh was employed into the attack in the eleventh over. Besides turning viciously, the odd ball bounced sharply.

With no lateral movement from the wicket, skipper Sourav Ganguly brought Sanjay Bangar into the attack to create a rough on the strip. It was a trick, the Mumbai curator said, worked well at the Wankhede, when Bangar's six overs created enough rough for Harbhajan to demolish the Windies batsmen.

In Chennai, though, the left-handed Gayle dealt severely with the military-medium seamer and picked him in one over for three boundaries -- an edge that flew through gully, a majestic pull, and a back-foot punch through point.

The innings was gaining momentum when Gayle, looking to force Harbhajan through the mid-wicket, was beaten by the spin and top-edged to Sachin Tendulkar at point. With minutes to go for lunch, the West Indies lost their first wicket at 40.

Post-lunch session

Anil Kumble celebrated his 32nd birthday with a wicket after lunch. Left-hand opener Wavell Hinds was trapped in front without adding to his score of 18. The delayed decision by Sri Lanka umpire Asoka DeSilva seemed dubious as the ball pitched on off-stump and barely straightened as it rapped Hinds on his pads. (46-2)

Ganguly brought back Srinath into the attack to give Harbhajan a rest and the veteran fast bowler got India an unexpected breakthrough. The ball pitched outside off and came in; Sarwan inner-edged the ball onto his stumps and walked back to the pavilion for a painstaking 19 off 60 deliveries.

The visitors lost two wickets with the addition of 16 runs after lunch. What followed was probably the finest period for the West Indies as Carl Hooper joined Chanderpaul and dictated terms to the Indian bowlers.

Bangar, in particular, erred in his line and was sent packing to the fence by both the batsmen. Hooper cracked two boundaries off Virender Sehwag as the 50-run partnership came off 60 balls. Eschewing the hook shot that undid him at Wankhede, Hooper played with a freedom that was in complete contrast to Chanderpaul's stubborn occupation of the crease.

His 35 came off 38 balls, before Zaheer fooled him with a slower delivery. The ball flew to Ganguly in the covers.

The West Indies went into tea at 118 for 4, having added 73 runs in the post lunch session.

Post-tea session

The West Indies lost six wickets for 49 runs after tea and folded up for 167 runs.

Kumble bowled a brilliant third spell that shut the oxygen valve on the tourists. In 8.3 overs, the leggie picked up four wickets for a measly 10 runs.

Ryan Hinds and Chanderpaul negotiated the first 45 minutes after tea before the birthday boy began his celebrations.

Kumble got one to kick up at Chanderpaul. The ball kissed his glove and travelled high and fast to the diminutive keeper, Parthiv Patel, who showed great anticipation.

With only 135 runs on the board the tourists had lost half its side and, more importantly, their main batsman, Chanderpaul.

Kumble trapped Ryan Hinds plumb in front with one that kept low for 16. After that it was curtains for the West Indies as the spinners -- Kumble and Harbhajan -- ran through the lower order.

Harbhajan accounted for keeper Ridley Jacobs and debutant Gareth Breese before Kumble accounted for the last two wickets and registered his 20th five-wicket haul.

He ended Jermaine Lawson’s stay at the crease to finish with incredible figures of 5 for 30 from 23.3 overs.

It was easily the tourists' best chance of posting a huge total, on a track where the ball refused to climb. Being dismissed for 167 and failing to bat all day, the Windies batsmen refused to stitch together partnerships despite that fact that all their middle-order batsmen spent a good amount of time in the middle. The longest partnership was between the openers, who faced 24.1 overs.

The Indian bowling was incisive and disciplined, helped by the fact that Ganguly rang in useful bowling changes to break threatening partnerships. The bowlers bowled 34 maidens in the 80-over West Indian innings.

Javagal Srinath proved that he is still India’s best fast bowler with an opening spell that not only complimented Khan but also choked the West Indian openers from scoring. The fact that the first West Indian fifty took 205 balls is ample evidence of the early spell from the seamers.

None of the West Indian batsmen managed to score anywhere close to their batting averages as Kumble bowled a brilliant length and Harbhajan tied the batsmen up in knots with his loop and sudden dip.

The Indian openers were forced to bat the last eight overs of the day, which seemed rather unfair after a long productive day in the field.

But Sehwag came out, blasted the West Indian bowlers and ended the day on 24 in a total of 31, in the eight overs the West Indies sent down.

In Pedro Collins’s first over, Sehwag smashed him for three boundaries -- one past point, another on the leg-side and a crisp drive through the covers.