Harbhajan sends West Indies hurtling to their doom India routed the West Indies by an innings and 112 runs in the first Test that ended in Mumbai on Saturday to claim a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The visitors, who were asked to follow-on after they fell behind by 300 runs in the first innings, had few answers to the guiles of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble and were skittled out for 188 runs in their second essay. Harbhajan claimed seven of those wickets for 48 runs, his tenth five-wicket haul in Tests, while Kumble snared the remaining three. The tame capitulation by the West Indies did little justice to the start that Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle had earlier provided. The duo put on 60 runs for the first wicket before Hinds (40) fell to Harbhajan on the third evening. Gayle (42) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (17), then, took the score to 105, before Gayle too was dismissed. That was to prove the precursor of a major collapse as Chanderpaul (36*) was yet again forced to wage a lone and futile battle.

Harbhajan thrilled with 10th five-wicket haul Harbhajan Singh might not have won the Man of the Match award at Mumbai. But that did not prevent him from feeling thrilled after yet another match-winning bowling performance. "I'm very happy with another five-wicket haul," Harbhajan told reporters at the post-match press conference. "I know it's my 10th and it's great to get to that mark. But I hope to get a lot more." This declaration by the man who decimated them must certainly have certainly set the alarm bells ringing in the West Indies’ camp. Giving the ball encouraging flight and loop, Harbhajan had the visiting batsmen in a bind in their second innings while ending up with flattering figures of 28.3-13-48-7. Harbhajan said that the newly relaid pitch was not the only reason why he and his senior spin twin Anil Kumble, who claimed seven wickets in the match, succeeded. "The ball was turning, but I think what was more important was that we were both bowling very well. I got my rhythm and was at my best. Once you get your rhythm right, the bounce and the turn is bound to come if the track has even got a little bit to offer," Harbhajan observed. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who recorded his 12th win in Tests, had little to complain about as he took another step towards obliterating Mohammad Azharuddin’s record of 14 Test wins. "I'm very happy that we've won another Test. It's a good feeling to be creeping closer to the mark," Ganguly said. "We played really well in this Test match and we're hoping to carry on our good form in the next match," he added.

Not the flock good Shepherd would like to see Mumbai’s crowds long regarded as among the most knowledgeable in the country came in for condemnation the other day at the Cricket Club of India (CCI). Renowned umpire David Shepherd, who along with Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Mike Proctor and Chandu Sarwate was awarded an honorary life-membership by the CCI, criticized the behaviour of the crowds in the North stand while making his acceptance speech. "It's a happy occasion, and I don't intend to sour it. India's cricketers play great cricket. India's people are warm, but a section of the crowd at the North Stand chanted mindless obscenities. It was shocking. Fortunately it did not come from the stand that has been named after Sachin Tendulkar. It would have been nothing short of a crime if the chanting had come from there, for Tendulkar is not only a great ambassador for Indian cricket but also world cricket," Shepherd observed.

Erapalli Prasanna reviews the first Test that ended at Mumbai on Saturday. Click Here Precocious wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel recalls his Test debut and growing up in Ahmedabad Click Here Get all your cricketing questions answered. Just Ask Philip. Click Here