Date-stamped : 04 Mar95 - 18:41 India v West Indies, TEST 5, Calcutta, 10-15 December 1983 The series was won and lost in the massive cauldron of the Eden Gardens early on the fourth day. India had only itself to blame as it frittered away one advantage after another, crashing to an innings and 46 runs debacle. The Indian bowling was thoroughly exposed as West Indies recovered from 42 for 4 to an imposing 377, a lead of 136. Lloyd brought all his experience into play in a highly professional un- beaten 161. With admirable support from his pace trio, Lloyd just went on and on... Then in a furious 10.4 over burst at the end of the third day, Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall reduced India to a pathetic 36 for five in the second innings from which it could never never hope to recover. The first ball of the match itself was a fateful sign of the disasters to follow. Gavaskar played an airy-fairy stroke to a wide outswinger from Marshall and gloved a catch to Dujon -- the second time he had been out to the first ball of a Test. Before a capacity crowd of over 85,000 could catch their breath, Gaekwad (2), Vengsarkar (23) and Amarnath (0) were sent packing. Lunch must have tasted bitter with the score at 45 for four. For the first time this season Kapil Dev showed some sort of bat- ting form. The strength of his shots emabled him to land the ball in no-man`s land. With Malhotra (20) and Shastri (12) who reached 1,000 Test runs -- unable to stay for long, India was left gasping at 63 for 5. One has lost count of the number of times Binny has come to India`s rescue. The beefy all-rounder took the attack to the enemy camp, clubbing Holding for 23 runs in two overs. Binny had eight 4s in his 44 off 58 balls before he was trapped in front by Roberts, having survived a strong appeal the previous ball. But by then he had put on 82 in 74 minutes for the seventh wicket with his skipper. Kapil found another able partner in Syed Kirmani. The two really scorched the field, chancing their arms. Both had a couple of lives but rode their luck effectively to add 69 for the eighth wicket in just 55 minutes. The stand ended with Holding bowling Kapil for 69, inclusive of eleven 4s off 79 balls. These two vi- tal partnerships helped take India to the relative safety of 231 for 8. The next day India was all out for 241 -- bit not before Roberts reched the landmark of 200 wickets in his 46th Test when he bowled Kirmani for 49 to wrap up the innings. He thus became the third West Indian, after Gary Sobers and Lance Gibbs, to reach this target. Though nowhere near them in terms of speed, Kapil Dev proved that he is capable of showing the West Indian quickies a thing or two in the art of pace bowling. The dynamic all-rounder turned in another of his astonishing spells to have the Carinneans stuttering at 88 for 5. Only Lloyd among the recognized batsmen was left at this stage. But Kapil`c counterpart was batting on 55 and in combination with Marshall. who once again showed that he can be classed as a genuine all- rounder with a fine 54 had pushed the score upto 179 for 6 by close of the second day. The battle lines were now clearly drawn. In the space of 17 balls, Kapil had swept aside Richards (9), Haynes (5) and Dujon (0) while conceding a solitary run. Bin- ny chipped in with Greenidge`s wicket and at 42 for 4, the visi- tors were in much the same predicament as India had found it- self on the first day. It was at this stage that the difference between the two teams was made painfully clear. Occupation of the crease was the most important factor. Gomes applied himself to the task, being the first to assist his captain, adding 46 runs for the fifth wicket. When Yadav unleashed a vicious turner to beat Gomes (18) all ends up, India was still holding the upper end. Now came the turning point of the match. Kapil failed to marshall his limited resources effectively as Marshall played some thril- ling strokes on the way to his second half century of the series. Just before close of the second day he was trapped plumb in front by Maninder -- but not before he had put on 87 runs for the sixth wicket with Lloyd in 122 lively minutes. The thrid day was one of unmitigated disaster for India. The spin trio of Yadav, Maninder and Shastri bowled without inno- vation and imagination. The fielding was sloppy and the game inexorably slipped out of India`s grasp. Lloyd reached the 18th century of his long career and his seventh against India. Roberts hit his highest ever first-class score. Then Marshall and Holding combined to smash the fragile Indian batting to pieces and all but wrap up the Test and the series by the close of the third day. Gavaskar played a loose, flashy drive to a wide one from Holding; Gaekwad and Vengsarkar fell to pure pace and Mohinder achieved the utter ignominy of a pair -- his second of the series -- mean- ing that he had scored just one run in six innings in the series!! Lloyd can rarely have played a more sedate innings. He eshchewed all his natural aggressiveness to grind the wafer-thin Indian bolwing into dust. He reached his hundred off 200 balls, which contained just six boundaries. As many as 58 of those runs haad come in singles. At 213 for 8, India had a golden chance to finish off the West Indian innings. But it had reckoned without the batting prowess of Roberts. The Antiguan fast bowler played an innings inter- spersed with long defensive stretches and sudden bursts of ag- gression. The 161 runs put on by Roberts and Lloyd is the second highest ever for the ninth wicket in Tests. Each of the three spinners was hoisted over the boundary by Roberts before he was caught by Amarnath while attempting to hit Yadav out of the ground. Roberts made a splendid 68. When Yadav had Davis lbw, the West Indies had splendidly recovered to 377 all out. Nothing seemed to deter the giant left-handed Lloyd and at the end he had occupied the crease for 495 minutes out of a total of 550 minutes that his team had batted in an innings of monumental patience and application. Only Malhotra put up any semblance of a fight on the fourth day when India started off at a hopeless 36 for 5. The rest of the batting put on another 54 with Marshall capturing his Test best figures of six for 37. The total was the lowest ever recorded at Calcutta. For India, the wheel of fortune had turned a full, vicious cir- cle. That glorious day of June 25 was all forgotten as the players were booed, heckled and pelted, leaving the ground in disgrace. Source :: The Indian Cricket Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)