At last, some spunk from the West Indian batsmen. When Chris Gayle was out fourth ball, an innings defeat looked likely, but three out of the next four batsmen got starts and, for once, capitalised. Refreshingly, the batsmen shrugged off the timid approach of the first innings, and suddenly the Indian spin attack and a third-day pitch didn't look so menacing. Nothing demonstrates the contrast better than the manner in which the batsmen handled Anil Kumble. In the first innings, Kumble finished with 5 for 30 from 22.3 overs. Today, his returns were a more modest 1 for 74 from 19 overs. Of the 72 good-length balls he sent down on the first day, he went for just six runs – that's 0.5 runs per over. That improved to 40 runs from 77 similar deliveries – more than three an over.

Especially impressive was the way Wavell Hinds and Ramnaresh Sarwan handled Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in their first spells. Thirty-two runs came in Kumble's first six overs, and 28 from Harbhajan's first seven. That early onslaught snatched the initiative from the spin twins, and they looked far lesser bowlers thereafter.

For the first time in the series, the batsmen weren't glued to the crease. They advanced down the wicket nine times, and scored 17 off those deliveries. It was hardly surprising that the not-in-control percentage for the spinners dropped significantly – it was 19 for Harbhajan and just 12 for Kumble.

S Rajesh is sub editor of Wisden.com in India.

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