October 31 Thursday 2002
Bangar lifts shaky India against WI

CALCUTTA: Opener Sanjay Bangar top-scored with a patient 77 as India battled to 275 for six against West Indies in the third and final test on Wednesday. Bangar, dropped on five, relied on his stubborn defence to play the anchor role and shore up the innings after the dismissal of their top four batsmen had left India in trouble at 165-4 at tea.

The 30-year-old batsman put on 77 for the fifth wicket with Vangipurappu Laxman as the two stood firm against the four-man West Indies pace attack. Bangar completed his third test fifty before he was out late in the final session, driving fast bowler Cameron Cuffy to cover.

His 201-ball knock lasting over five hours and contained 13 fours. Laxman scored 48 before edging Mervyn Dillon to slip fielder Chris Gayle to give the pace spearhead his second success in the fading light.

At the close, Parthiv Patel (18) and Harbhajan Singh (3) were together when poor light ended play seven overs early. The West Indies pace bowlers gave their struggling side their best day of the series with a sustained effort on a good batting pitch at the Eden Gardens after skipper Saurav Ganguly chose to bat first.

Opener Virender Sehwag, who made an aggressive run-a-ball 35, Sachin Tendulkar (36) and Rahul Dravid (14) all fell to the quicks while Ganguly (30) succumbed to his opposite number Carl Hooper's off-spin. Sehwag gave a typically fast start to the innings before he and Dravid were dismissed in the morning, trapped leg before by Dillon and young paceman Darren Powell.

Sehwag put on 49 with Bangar before being trapped in front by a ball which nipped back into him. He hit six fours. Dravid also fell to a sharp in-cutter, but television replays suggested he had edged the ball onto this pads.

Tendulkar showed early fluency in search of his first fifty of the series as India breezed to lunch at 98 for two. But young fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, playing only his second test, claimed his wicket after lunch by luring Tendulkar into edging a wide ball to first slip.

Lawson, who had dismissed Tendulkar in the second Madras test, and Dillon frustrated him by bowling to their field or wide of the stumps to keep him off the strike for long spells. Tendulkar hit seven fours in his 65-ball knock. Ganguly also played many flowing off-side shots in his effort but edged a cut against Hooper after he had come on himself at the stroke of tea.

But Bangar, who has shown the virtues of patience and a straight bat in a side of brilliant stroke players, once again gradually built his innings before opening out after tea. He drove Lawson past cover for his sixth four to reach fifty soon after the interval and firmly flicked the bowler past mid-wicket for two more fours in one over to step up the scoring. Laxman played freely as usual as the final session produced 110 runs.