Tendulkar, Laxman help India salvage draw in final Test Sachin Tendulkar eventually scored a Test century at the Eden Gardens and VVS Laxman a restrained 154 not out as India salvaged a draw in the final Test against the West Indies on Sunday. The Indian spinners – Sehwag, Harbhajan and Kumble - had earlier managed to restrict the tourists to 497 all out in their first innings. Sehwag claimed the all-important wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (140) before Harbhajan and Kumble ran through the rest of the batting, claiming two wickets each. The spin trio, however, could not prevent Marlon Samuels from completing his maiden Test ton; the 21-year-old made 104 before falling to Harbhajan, the most successful Indian bowler with figures of 5-115. When the hosts replied, a combination of good bowling from Mervyn Dillon and poor umpiring from Asoka De Silva reduced them to 87-4 in the fourth evening, still 52 runs in the arrears. But Tendulkar (176 off 298 balls) and Laxman forged a 214-run for the fifth wicket to take India to safety, securing the hosts their first 2-0 series win over the West Indies.

Ganguly pays tribute to India's batsmen after drawn Test India captain Sourav Ganguly has praised his side's fighting qualities after they bounced back from a first-innings deficit to draw the third and final Test against the West Indies. India had already clinched the three-Test series 2-0 but West Indies entertained hopes of a victory after reducing the home side to 87 for four in their second innings on the fourth day. "Somebody has stood up and delivered in a crunch situation," said Ganguly, after VVS Laxman's unbeaten 154 and Sachin Tendulkar's classy 176 guided India out of trouble on the fifth and final day at Eden Gardens. "It has been the feature of our cricket over the past 10 months and, hopefully, we can continue that for the next six months (until the World Cup). We were a bit down in this Test, but we fought back very well to save the game," he observed. Tendulkar and Laxman shared in a record fifth-wicket stand of 214, although Tendulkar strained his hamstring, which later led to him being ruled out of the one-day series starting on Wednesday. West Indies skipper Carl Hooper was pleased with his own team's recovery after suffering huge defeats in the first two Tests in Mumbai and Chennai. "It is just a shame that we couldn't cap it off with a win," he said. "But it was a 50-60 percent improvement in our performances. We have been struggling to get three figure scores but (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul, (Wavell) Hinds and (Marlon) Samuels came through.” Chanderpaul, with 140, Hinds (100), and Samuels (104), all completed centuries in the West Indies first innings reply of 497. "For once, we put India under pressure," Hooper added.

Injured Tendulkar to miss one-dayers India’s premier batsman Sachin Tendulkar will miss the seven-match one-day series against West Indies starting this week after suffering a hamstring injury during his match-saving 176 in the second innings of the third and final Test. BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who made the announcement, said that Tendulkar will undergo treatment for three weeks. "We received a report from the team physio Andrew Leipus who says the injury is not too severe but he needs rest to prevent further damage and rehabilitate the muscle," Dalmiya said. Left-hander Dinesh Mongia, who was initially left out of the 14-man squad after a string of low scores, has been named as Tendulkar’s replacement. The Little Master is the second Indian player to pull out of the series with an injury. Zaheer Khan had earlier made himself unavailable after a back injury.

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