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Match facts

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Start time 15.00 (local), 9.00 (GMT)

The Big Picture

Overworked v Undercooked probably sums up the state of the two title contenders in the tri-series. India travel-weary bunch are probably more match-ready but they will be up against a set of players who’re coming off an extended rest. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has lost just one series since being handed captaincy (against Australia) but it would require his side to stop a side coming off a 12-game winning streak.India taking on Pakistan in a neutral venue was almost a norm in the ’90s – when the teams faced off in conditions as diverse as Sharjah, Toronto and Singapore – but the two sides have managed that only for five games in the last five years. The form guide also looks slightly different from the last decade – India have an 8-3 advantage in the last 11 games – and have a side that’s learnt how to hold its nerve in the crunch.Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, has wished for his side to hand India a drubbing. The result of the game may not have a bearing on the finalists in this tournament but the confidence built up will no doubt come in handy during the Asia Cup and Champions Trophy – two titles both sides would want in their kitty.

Form guide – India

Last five matches: WWWLW (most recent first)
Player to watch: India might be tempted to hand Yusuf Pathan a one-day debut, especially after his sparkling performances in the recent IPL. Apart from his explosive batting skills, which will no doubt come in handy lower down the order, he could be useful with his fastish offbreaks and electric intensity on the field. He’s shown the ability to clear the boundary under pressure and often guided his side – the Rajasthan Royals – in tense run-chases.

Form guide – Pakistan

Last five matches: WWWWW (most recent first)
Player to watch: Wahab Riaz’s three wickets set up Pakistan’s big win the other night but this will be his first real test. His three ODIs and a Twenty20 have all come against lesser opposition and it will be interesting to see how he stands up to a relatively stronger batting line-up. India, on the other hand, will be wary of one of the rising stars in Pakistan cricket, someone whose rhythmic action and pace has already caught the eye.

Team news

Virender Sehwag didn’t practice on match-eve but Gary Kirsten, the coach, said it was only because of a slight cold. India would want to try out a few options early in the tournament – particularly giving Yusuf a chance.The series offers India a chance to rotate a few players, allowing a few to get some valuable rest. Ishant Sharma would be expected to take the new ball and there could be a toss up between RP Singh and Praveen Kumar to share it. Piyush Chawla would lead a spin department with Yusuf, Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag providing back-up.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Robin Uthappa, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Praveen Kumar, 11 Ishant Sharma.Pakistan are unlikely to change the combination that comprehensively beat Bangladesh. Fawad Alam, the left-arm spinner and batsman, didn’t have a great outing but is likely to get another chance with no real spin back-up in the squad.Pakistan (probable): 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shoaib Malik (capt), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Fawad Alam, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Wahab Riaz.

Pitch & conditions

India and Pakistan will play on a different pitch from that which was used for the first game but it is expected to play in similar fashion. Lawson said that the new ball bounced and came on to the bat but Salman Butt, who made 70 against Bangladesh, said there was grip and turn as the ball got older which did not make stroke-making easy.The weather on the eve of the match was clear, after a short shower in the morning when the Indians were going through their fielding drills. It remained sunny through the afternoon and the evening but the climate changes quickly in Dhaka. The BBC’s forecast is for heavy showers.

Stats and trivia

New Zealand’s players at the ICC Champions Trophy next month are not affected by the contracts issue which has resulted in an impassed between the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) and the International Cricket Council.New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden said today that he had worked through the issue with the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association (NZCPA).”We have agreed that the ICC sponsorship provisions for the ICC Champions Trophy are covered by New Zealand Cricket’s existing player contracts,” he said.As a result, Snedden did not think that any New Zealand players will be detrimentally affected by signing the ICC contract before next month’s event.However, Snedden said he was sympathetic the views of members of the TelstraClear Black Caps and would continue to work through the issue with the Players’ Association as part of their ongoing contract negotiations.”The issue is an important one for international cricket and I hope all parties will be able to work towards a solution which allows the ICC to meet its contractual obligations,” he said.This position was supported by the NZCPA spokesman, Heath Mills.”The Players’ Association focus is to ensure the players are looked after and I feel we have worked well with New Zealand Cricket to achieve this.”This issue is going to need to be addressed internationally so that it does not affect future events,” Mills said.

Karachi Blues’ fine start to their National Junior (Under-19) Grade-I Cricket Championship match against Islamabad was spoilt by heavy afternoon rain as they were stopped in their tracks at 146 for one on the first day of this three-day game.After winning the toss at the picturesque Shalimar Ground, Karachi Blues were helped by responsible batting from Nasir Aziz and Naveed Khan, both of whom struck half centuries.When play was called off, 25 minutes before lunch, Nasir was 63 not out with Naveed batting on 58. Khurram Manzoor, was the only victim of the day, falling to pacer Saif-ur-Rehman for 21.Elsewhere, Faraz Patel stroked 16 boundaries in making 116 off 163 deliveries as Karachi Whites piled up 313 against defending champions Peshawar at National Stadium.Peshawar, in reply were 78 for two with skipper Abdul Nasir batting on 40.Summarized scores: *At Shalimar Ground, Islamabad:KARACHI BLUES 146-1 in 24.3 overs (Nasir Aziz 63 not out, Naveed Khan 58 not out) v ISLAMABAD.*At National Stadium, Karachi:KARACHI WHITES 313 in 79.2 overs (Faraz Patel 116, Mubashir Ahmed 90; Sajid Saeed 3-89);PESHAWAR 78-2 in 16 overs (Abdul Nasir 40 not out).*At Lahore Country Club, Muridke:LAHORE BLUES 208 in 71.5 overs (Mohammad Saeed 63, Azhar Ali 46, Adnan Butt 43; Riaz Afridi 3-70);FATA 52-2 in 15.4 overs.*At PCB Regional Academy Ground, Rawalpindi:RAWALPINDI 241 in 75.1 overs (Usama Shabbir 68; Arun Lal 4-44, Abdul Hameed 3-54);QUETTA 44-1 in 17 overs.*At Bahawalpur Stadium:BAHAWALPUR 213 in 79.1 overs (Asif Iqbal 72; Asim Naseer 7-61);LAHORE WHITES 32-2 in 11 overs.Our Sports Correspondent adds from Lahore: Multan’s paceman Kamran Hadi captured six for 23 as Kasur were bundled out for 99 in their first innings on the opening day of the three-day National Junior (Under-19) Grade-II Cricket Championship at Multan Stadium Wednesday.Multan replied with 170 for six in 54 overs by stumps.Elsewhere, Okara’s slow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar claimed seven for 69 as Faisalabad scored 252 in their first innings at Bohranwali Ground in Faisalabad.Okara, however, were in deep trouble at 43 for four at close of play.Leg-spinner Adeel Malik (six for 53) and Faisal Khan (97) put home side Sialkot in a commanding position against Mianwali at Saga Ground.Summarized scores: *At Multan Stadium, Multan:KASUR 99 in 57 overs (Kamran Hadi 6-23);MULTAN 170-6 in 54 overs (Yasir Arafat 50, Mohammad Siddique 46).*At Shola Ground, Quetta:TURBAT 160 in 43.3 overs (Khalil Ahmed 4-64, Ghulam Sarwar 3-18);GHAGHAI 161-6 in 54 overs (Nadir Khan 59 not out, Ghulam Sarwar 43; Javed Raza 3-42).*At Saga Ground, Sialkot:MIANWALI 192 in 56.3 overs (Mohammad Bilal 60, Shahid Hameed 41; Adeel Malik 6-53, Mansoor Amjad 3-64);SIALKOT 193-5 in 44.3 overs (Faisal Khan 97, Shahid Yousuf 50)*At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar:BANNU 208 in 57.1 overs (Raheem Baz 50; Mir Usman 5-105, Abdul Shakoor 4-38);AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 114-4 in 35.4 overs (Afaq Raheem 68 not out).*At Nawabshah Stadium, Nawabshah:SUKKUR 355 in 78.2 overs (Asghar Ali 120, Yasir Ali 101; Abdullah 4-60);BADIN 45-2 in 19 overs.*At D.I. Khan Stadium, D.I. Khan:DERA ISMAIL KHAN 88 in 45.1 overs (Irfan Khan 53 not out; Abdul Wajid 3-4, Ihsan Elahi 3-29);MARDAN 90-8 in 40 overs (Kashif Sattar 3-29).*At Bohranwali Ground, Faisalabad:FAISALABAD 252 in 76 overs (Ghulam Dastagir 59, Naved Haider 44, Qaiser Majeed 40; Zulfiqar Babar 7-69);OKARA 43-4 in 19 overs (Mudassar Hussain 3-13).*At Mahmood Stadium, Rahimyar Khan:SARGODHA 236 in 79.1 overs (Usman Arshad 73; Kashif Rasool 3-71);RAHIMYAR KHAN 49-1 in 15 overs.*At Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala:ATTOCK 114 in 43.4 overs (Ali Imran 5-40, Saeed Ehsan 4-40);GUJRANWALA 156-4 in 49 overs (Aamir Gulzar 41, Imran Ali 41).*At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad:MIRPURKHAS 95 in 43.5 overs (Shoaib Leghari 5-11);HYDERABAD 91-7 in 55 overs (Syed Rehan 3-23, Nabi Mohammad 3-39).*At Police Ground, Larkana:KARACHI GREENS 215 in 74.3 overs (Hassan Saud 65, Fahad Iqbal 41; Kashif Ali 3-32);LARKANA 29-1 in 13 overs.

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, said on Monday he will consider coaching the Pakistan team if offered the role.”Coaching Pakistan is a matter of great pride. It is my way of returning something back to cricket which gave me so much,” he told reporters on the opening day of the specialised coaching camp for fast bowlers at the Gaddafi Stadium.Akram, along with National Cricket Academy chief coach Mudassar Nazar and coach Aaqib Javed, is supervising the seven-day long camp aimed at polishing the talent of 16 upcoming bowlers .Akram said he was busy with his media commitments but that he would definitely consider an offer from the Pakistan board. “But I am already serving cricket as I am always there to take on short coaching assignments the way I am doing now,” he said.He also said Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson, currently in his home town in Australia, should join the national team’s training camp as soon as possible. “I think the coach should be there when the camp starts and he must be there to supervise the training,” he said when told that Lawson might arrive late for the team’s training camp for the tri-series in Bangladesh, which starts on June 8.

While he knows all too well how tough it will be for his inexperienced side to beat India and Pakistan, Hong Kong captain Tabarak Dar sees the Asia Cup as an excellent opportunity to learn and develop.The tournament starts in Karachi on June 24, and Dar believes it will encourage Hong Kong and other smaller sides to lift their game in the future. “I believe this [Asia Cup] is a very good chance to play with big guns Pakistan and India, the two world-class outfits,” he told the , a Pakistan daily. “And if we are able to compete with them it would only benefit Hong Kong cricket.”Even though our task is very tough, we are pretty optimistic of putting up a good show here because the stage is set for our lads to prove everyone where we stand in international cricket.”Hong Kong lost both their matches in the previous Asia Cup in 2004. They play hosts Pakistan on Tuesday and India the next day.”At the end of the day, we are not here on holidays,” said Dar, 32. “Our aim is to be competitive in this tournament and try to create an upset or two. Playing alongside the best teams will be a good learning process for my team.”While Dar could not single out any one player to watch out for, he had confidence in his team. “There are individuals in this squad who are capable of big things,” he said. “Basically, ours is a side that contains all-round players. However, we are pinning our bowling hopes on Nadeem Ahmed, who was a youngster when we played in Sri Lanka in 2004.””Straight after the Asia Cup we have the ACC Trophy, so we are looking at it as an opportunity to play against bigger Test nations and show the world where we stand here and then in the ACC Trophy,” said Dar.Aftab Habib, Hong Kong’s coach, admitted they were up against the odds. “We are a very small team but this Asia Cup gives us an opportunity to know where we stand against bigger teams and it is a huge stepping stone for us,” Habib, a former England Test player who took over as coach 10 months ago, told . “I am honoured to be associated with Hong Kong cricket and by now have got to know the boys well and the goal for me is to take them further.”

What a week it’s been for the cricket enthusiast with the game being highlighted in all facets of the media. We’ve seen the news on the West Indies against India with Sachin Tendulkar getting his first century at Eden Gardens and India wrapping up the series, the Supersport Series Final has been a game with many highs and lows. The Easterns men have fought against the odds right from the start and can be proud of their performance whether they win, draw or lose today. Western Province totally dominated the first morning and then somehow let the match tilt in favour of Easterns.The selection of the Test squad to play Sri Lanka will no doubt create much discussion but hopefully those selected will have earned their place through consistent performances and will do us all proud in the coming series against Sri Lanka which starts at the weekend. Sri Lanka have already played two matches and have failed to dominate both the SA "A" Team and the Rest of South Africa Team. While they have had good batting form they have not managed to place any ascendancy on opposing batsmen either through spin or seam bowling. We all know what Muralitharan is capable of and the Proteas will have taken a special interest in his performances to date. The captain, Sanith Jayasuria, has batted in the middle order of both matches so far and this is a clear indication of what their strategy will be. One thing is certain; they will not be as easy to beat as Bangladesh was. They are a kind of team that can beat anyone on their day.The most disappointing aspect of the entire week has been the fact that cricket has once again been in the media for the wrong reasons as well. The entire saga surrounding the Sports Minister and the UCB has created huge negativity for the man in the street. The sooner this issue is cleared up the better for all involved in the game. With the World Cup around the corner and so much at stake for the entire country, the last thing we need is any division between supporters.Something that has been very conspicuous in it’s absence has been the fact that the Players Association has not taken any public stand whatsoever. From all accounts in the media one of their members, Jacques Kallis, seems to have been isolated and sadly has been given absolutely no opportunity to express his emotions. Remember, all UCB contracted players cannot engage in any form of media interaction and I can only imagine how Kallis must have felt seeing his name associated with the alleged statements. It wasn’t long ago that we saw the Players Association taking a huge stand on the issue of contracts and I cannot help but thinking that they have missed a huge opportunity to use their influence to bring the whole matter to a head. Lets hope that Jacques Kallis and maybe even one or two other players don’t decide to pack their bags and play for someone else before the World Cup. It is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility. This Association was a much-needed one, but if it is toothless and is only interested in making noises when it comes to cash, its very existence will be at stake.The Ashes Series also starts on the coming weekend and with Mark Waugh having been axed, plenty of attention will be given to the performance of the Aussies. The Poms have an inexperienced team due to many injuries and should be no match for the Aussies at home. Steve Waugh will certainly want to end his Test career with another ashes victory. However, should the Aussies stumble and South Africa win against Sri Lanka the Aussies will then lose their number one ranking in Test cricket. Now wouldn’t that be fantastic!Over the last few seasons we’ve seen matches at both the Wanderers and Centurion being rain-affected and with unstable weather around at the moment, the pitch at the Wanderers for the coming Test is being watched with much trepidation. The Proteas certainly won’t want to see a pitch that doesn’t have good bounce.

Queenstown will join New Zealand’s list of international venues by hosting a One-Day international against India next year, while a Super Max International will also feature on the tour.However, there will be no Boxing Day Test this summer. New Zealand Cricket released the tour schedule today.The only two Tests in New Zealand over the summer will be in Wellington and Hamilton before Christmas.New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said the decision on the Boxing Day Test was not a precedent for future seasons. It had been necessary because India needed to be home for the World Cup preparation by January 16 and to fit that in New Zealand felt it was best that both teams have seven ODIs in succession as part of their World Cup build-up rather than splitting the ODIs around the Tests.”We will go back to it next year,” Snedden said.He added that there were also financial reasons for not playing ODIs before Christmas.The two Test, seven ODI tour will start with a Max international being played at a venue still to be decided.The last time a Max international was played was for the opener of the West Indies tour at Christchurch in 1999/00.Queenstown which was the spectacular venue for the Otago team’s three-day match against England earlier this year, will host an ODI on January 4, the height of the holiday season in the summer resort.”The ideal situation for us is to ensure that every region gets an international game.”At that time of year there are no students in Dunedin and most people from Dunedin are in Central Otago so Carisbrook was not a viable option.”Alexandra is not easy to get up to the required standard and the Queenstown Events Centre are keen because it will take some effort to get it to standard but we are confident that can be done,” he said.”It is important that we get international cricket into the Otago region.”There is a fairly large holiday population in Central Otago then and it is a ground with a beautiful backdrop,” he said.Hamilton will host its first ODI under lights with the final game of the tour on January 14.”They’ve put a huge investment into the ground in Hamilton. We considered Taupo but it was Northern Districts’ wish that Hamilton be supported. All the reports are that the lights will be good for a night game,” he said.The State Shield has been timed to coincide with New Zealand’s departure to South Africa and most players will be involved in the domestic one-day series before leaving.The selectors also asked that Shield games be scheduled after the one-day series so they could assess any players who may have come into consideration during the first part of the State Shield.The first Test of the tour will be at the Basin Reserve in Wellington from December 12-16 and the second Test will be in Hamilton from December 19-23.The itinerary is:Super Max International at TBA, December 4; India v Central Districts at Napier, Dec 6-8; 1st Test at Wellington, Dec 12-16; 2nd Test at Hamilton, Dec 19-23; 1st ODI at Auckland (day/night), Dec 26; 2nd ODI at Napier, Dec 29; 3rd ODI at Christchurch (day/night), January 1; 4th ODI at Queenstown, Jan 4; 5th ODI at Wellington (day/night), Jan 8; 6th ODI at Auckland (day/night), Jan 11; 7th ODI at Hamilton (day/night), Jan 14.

Alex Tudor, whose omission from England’s 16-man Ashes squad was described as a “close call” by England’s chairman of selectors, is included in England’s winter academy squad.Tudor, 24, was man of the match in the win over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, but since then he has suffered shin splints and he looked below par in the last two Tests of the series against India.

“Alex Tudor has been included in the academy squad rather than the Test squad because we have concerns about his strength and stamina and want him to concentrate on these areas this winter,” said Graveney.There is also a berth in the 15-man academy squad for Lancashire’s 20-year-old pace bowler Jimmy Anderson, who has taken 44 first-class wickets in 10 matches this season. But Warwickshire’s Ian Bell, widely tipped as a likely England selection at the start of the summer, misses out with a back injury.”Following discussions with both Warwickshire and Rod Marsh, Ian Bell has not been included in the academy squad to go to Australia,” Graveney said. “He has a stress fracture of the back and it is felt that he needs a rest after a long period of continuous cricket.”However, we will consider including Ian on the trip to Sri Lanka in the NewYear provided he makes a satisfactory recovery from injury,” he added.Academy squad: K Ali (Worcs), J Anderson (Lancs), G Batty (Worcs), I Blackwell(Somerset), R Clarke (Surrey), K Hogg (Lancs), G Muchall (Durham), M Panesar(Northants), C Read (Notts), D Stevens (Leics), C Tremlett (Hants), J Troughton(Warwicks), A Tudor (Surrey), G Wagg (Warwicks), M Wallace (Glam).

SYDNEY – Test captains from three countries, along with survivors of DonBradman’s greatest team, gathered in Sydney tonight to honour worldcricket’s oldest living skipper, former Invincible Bill Brown.The Brisbane 90-year-old was feted at a testimonial dinner chaired byformer England captain Tony Greig with guests including ex-Australianskippers Brian Booth, Bob Simpson and Ian Craig, and New Zealand greatWalter Hadlee.Hadlee’s son, cricketing knight Sir Richard, also joined the tribute,along with former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson.Completing the line-up were members of Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles BillJohnston, Sam Loxton, Neil Harvey and Arthur Morris.Brown, who played in the first two Tests of the 1948 Ashes series,captained Australia in 1946 in the inaugural Test against New Zealand.He scored two centuries at Lord’s and averaged over 46in a 22-Test career either side of WWII.Cricket’s elder statesman has declared the modern game to be in “a goodstate of health” despite sledging which he can’t stand and the ’90smatch-fixing scandals which he calls “completely beyond the pale,they’ve got to be stopped”.Brown is the sixth Australian Test player to live into his nineties.Australia’s oldest Test cricketer was Ken Burn, who died in 1956 aged 93years and 307 days.Items auctioned at tonight’s dinner included a 1948 Ashes bat signed byboth teams.Funds raised will help the Lord’s Taverners Australia assistdisadvantaged children.

To the backdrop of noisy, happy, flag-waving celebrations, the West Indies completed yet another emphatic victory over India at Kensington Oval in the third Cable & Wireless Test yesterday, their seventh in eight Tests between the teams on the ground.The outcome, settled 25 minutes after lunch on the fourth day, levels the series at 1-1 with two Tests remaining.It was predictable as early as the first day when India tumbled for the all-out first-innings 102, but it was not finalised in quite the way expected.That the West Indies were obliged to go in a second time to knock off five runs was due mainly to India’s No. 9, Zaheer Khan, who batted with all the carefree abandon of an old-fashioned tailender for a personal best, run-a-ball 46.Twice he clobbered fast bowler Adam Sanford over the mid-wicket boundary for sixes, twice top-edged fours over the slips that prompted the installation of a fly-slip and drove through the covers and mid-off with more authentic strokes.Only opener Wasim Jaffer, with his second innings 51, and dogged captain Saurav Ganguly, following his first innings’ last-out 48, with 60 not out this time, scored more in the match.As unusual, and unorthodox, as Zaheer’s merry-making was, the West Indies had their own little trick up their sleeve.As Zaheer swashbuckled and Ganguly kept accumulating runs in an eighth-wicket partnership of 74, Ramnaresh Sarwan was offered the last speculative over before lunch to toss up his leg-spin.Soon, he was contemplating one of Test cricket’s most bizarre hat-tricks.His first ball got rid of Zaheer, who touched a long-hop to Ridley Jacobs, a signal for the players to head for the Sir Garfield Sobers Pavilion for lunch.On resumption, Sarwan struck again with his first delivery as Javagal Srinath stabbed a faster straight ball into Chris Gayle’s lap at gully.It was not easy to tell who was more delighted the beaming bowler, his whooping teammates or the noisy and animated crowd, although it wasn’t difficult to guess.Last man Ashish Nehra prevented the hat-trick and the prospect of months of incessant bragging after which Brian Lara, leading the team in the temporary absence of Carl Hooper, was judicious, and courageous, enough to thank Sarwan for his one-over effort and return to his major fast bowler, Dillon, to put a seal on the deal.It took him two balls. Like Zaheer, Nehra is a left-arm swing fast bowler and right-hand batsman and, copying Zaheer’s earlier approach, he swung Dillon high, wide and not so handsome towards mid-on.Pedro Collins, running ten yards to his right and sighting the ball as it came over his shoulder, collected the catch at third attempt.A joyous Sunday crowd of around 6 000 had gathered early in confident expectation of a rare West Indian success and were well primed for their celebrations by the time Stuart Williams cut Harbhajan Singh to the Kensington Stand boundary to settle the matter.They had been in the stands throughout, fluttering the flags of the several cricketing West Indies’ nations, and now they poured onto the ground.The disco boomed out appropriate sounds in the background, a West Indies captain collected the sponsors’ winning cheque for the first time at Kensington since Brian Lara did, following his breathtaking unbeaten 153 against Australia three years ago and Dillon took the Man-Of-The-Match award for his eight wickets.These have been rough times for West Indies cricket so that its passionate public craves any morsel of success.This was a whole, satisfying meal.The recovery from the disappointment of the narrow second Test defeat in Port-of-Spain (by 37 runs) reflected an encouraging spirit.Not everything is right and there remains a lot wrong with the openers, with the tailend and with the inability of all four fast bowlers to be consistent every session.But the result should be an enormous tonic for the remaining Tests in Antigua, starting on Friday, and Kingston from May 18 to May 22.It was the West Indies’ first triumph in nine Tests, since they defeated Zimbabwe by an innings in Bulwayo last July, and their seventh in eight Tests at Kensington Oval over the Indians, who have never won a match on the ground.India started the morning at 169 for four, still 123 away from requiring a West Indies second innings, with their batting champion, Sachin Tendulkar, and the reliable Rahul Dravid already dismissed cheaply.Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman, the last specialist batsmen, carried their hopes of making a fight of it but the left-handed Ganguly was left with only young wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra and the four bowlers when Laxman edged a low catch to Hooper at second slip off Collins 20 minutes into the day. He was 46 when he was undone by Collins.The preceding scores for wicketkeepers on both sides had been 0, 0, 1 (Junior Murray) and 0 (Jacobs), 0 (Deep Dasgupta) and 0, 2, 1 (Ratra).Ratra was a couple of inches short of another 0 to add to the list when he edged Collins to fourth slip but he more than tripled the combined keepers’ amount until he fell lbw to Dillon, using the second new ball.In the next over, Cuffy bowled Harbhajan Singh off the inside edge with the second new ball before Zaheer and Sarwan became the two unlikely stars of the finale.