India salvage draw against Busta XI It took gritty half-centuries from Dinesh Mongia, Deep Dasgupta and Wasim Jaffer to help India salvage a draw in the three-dayer against Busta XI at St. Lucia. Earlier, the hammering that they had received on the first two days at the hands of Wavell Hinds, Devon Smith and Ridley Jacobs seemed to have rattled the Indian batsmen, who crumbled to 150 all out in their first innings. Their plight would have been worse had it not been for a gritty seventh-wicket partnership between Dinesh Mongia (67) and Sarandeep Singh (32). Leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine, who claimed four wickets, was the most successful bowler for the home team. A first innings deficit of 287 runs meant that the VVS Laxman-led Indians had to suffer the embarrassment of following-on. But despite losing a struggling Shiv Sunder Das for a duck, Wasim Jaffer (62) and Deep Dasgupta (54*) with a 101-run second partnership ensured that their team escaped with a draw. Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, who sat out the match, was quick to appreciate the efforts of the duo. "Wasim and Deep both played well in the second innings to get 50s. Any one of them could open the innings at Barbados," he said.

Gupte: Kumble's experience should have been utilised Subhash Gupte, the legendary former Indian leg-spinner who currently resides in Trinidad, was not happy with the Indian team management's decision to drop Anil Kumble from the recently concluded second Test at Port of Spain. "He has got more than 300 Test wickets which in itself is a big achievement. His experience could have been utilised," Gupte observed. The 73-year-old leg-spinner was also pleased with the Indian win in the recently concluded second Test at Port of Spain. "It's always nice to hear about an Indian victory. People respect Indian cricketers here. So, when they win, Indian cricket receives more respect. And personally I feel more proud. They respect me more too," he said. Even a batsman of Sir Gary Sobers' calibre has declared unhesitatingly that Gupte was the best leg-spinner he had ever faced. It was then interesting to hear Gupte name the great Australian left-hander Neil Harvey as the toughest batsman he has bowled to. "He was superb against me. I could never have his wicket. I still remember that innings in Mumbai where he scored 140-odd. And having completed the century he came to me and said, `Don't forget that as you have a reputation for being a good bowler, I too have one for being a good batsman'. It was real tough against him." Despite the achievements of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar still remains the greatest Indian batsman in his book. "India has never produced a better batsman than him. Sunil has 13 centuries against the West Indies alone. Tremendous achievement. And he was an intelligent cricketer. No, I can't compare him with anyone else," he said with an air of finality.

Greenidge lashes out at Windies batsmen Gordon Greenidge was one of the finest openers of his times. Showing the ferocity that characterised his batting during his heydays, Greenidge lashed out at the current West Indies batsmen for their lack of application and concentration. Speaking at an awards ceremony organised by the Barbados Cricket Association, the former West Indies great said that most of the problems that the batsmen seemed to have were self-inflicted. He also criticised them for not approaching former greats for advice. To ensure that the advice hit home, he quoted his own example, reminding the gathering how he unhesitatingly sought the advice of greats like Everton Weekes and Sir Garry Sobers during his playing days. Before signing off, Greenidge said that he was shocked to find that no assistance was being proffered to the under-15 cricketers who recently won the World Championship. Better mind them was his parting word.

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