4th Test: West Indies v India at Antigua, 10-14 May 2002 Anand Vasu |
West Indies 1st innings:
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The fact that Jacobs was dismissed by Rahul Dravid is about enough proof that this type of cricket is about the worst advertisement for Test cricket. Playing a massive across-the-line heave, Jacobs holed out to Laxman in the on side. Not before he had hit 11 clean sixes.
Then came the heightened comedy. Not wanting to tire out their main bowlers, and you can’t really blame them for that, India used 10 bowlers in all. Ajay Ratra with his pads on is the only man not to bowl. Wasim Jaffer, VVS Laxman and SS Das all sent down some gentle inviting off spin. Why, even the captain himself could not resist the temptation and send down an over that was a mixture of off spin and leg spin just before tea. Dillon knocked 14 runs off that over, and reached 31 (45 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes).
Unfussed by everything happening around him, Chanderpaul continued to occupy the crease and had 125 (454 balls, 16 fours) to his name.
Jacobs, coming back to the West Indian team fresh from a double-hundred in a club game appeared in prime form. Confidence personified, Jacobs bludgeoned the ball to all parts of the ground. Starting with a heave off Sachin Tendulkar that landed in stands at square leg, Jacobs unfurled a series of positive shots.
The shot of the session easily was the six Jacobs hit off Nehra. Stepping across his stumps the ‘keeper launched into an on drive, hit the ball cleanly and powerfully, sending it over the stands and onto the roof. As if to show that he could play in the offside as well, Jacobs (77 runs, 134 balls, 9 fours, 3 sixes) played two exquisite cover drives, one off the back foot and one off the front.
In stark contrast, Chanderpaul (106 runs, 349 balls, 16 fours) was cautious on the way to his third century of the tour. Taking ample time, hardly striking any boundaries, Chanderpaul eased his way to three figures. Stroking a Nehra full toss to the on side the Guyana middle order batsmen relieved the tension. As is his tradition, he knelt over and kissed the pitch.
With this score, Chanderpaul has failed just once in the series, adjudged lbw for 1 at Guyana in the second Test, where also the ball appeared to pitch well outside the leg stump. So it has been a rum tour.
The match is only of academic interest now. Jacobs is heading towards completion of a unique record – never in the history of the game have two wicketkeepers scored hundreds in the same game.
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Date-stamped : 15 May2002 - 02:47