West Indies transformed themselves into capable gladiators who not only fought off India's advances, but also stamped their authority on the final day's play to end the second test in a draw. Bad weather which shaved off more than 100 overs also helped them in achieving the favourable result. On the penultimate day West Indies were 48 for four when the play ended. There was still a full day remaining and at 48 for four, they needed a further 256 runs to make India bat again. Nobody gave the hosts any chance against a rampant Indian team. And the man who largely made it possible is a two-Test rookie - Roston Chase. The gangly all-rounder from Barbados had already impressed with his bowling, taking a five-for when India batted. Chase capped it with an innings of such control that it was difficult to believe he was only playing his second Test.
In the process, he became the first West Indian in almost 50 years to take a five-for and hit a century in the same Test. The last man to do it was the great Garfield Sobers, in 1966. Chase's unbeaten 137 was the cornerstone of West Indies' resistance. But he was not the only hero - Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich and skipper Jason Holder all made crucial contributions on a day the Indian attack toiled without virtually any reward.
It was a sensational reversal of roles where the hunter became the hunted. Before last Wednesday, West Indies had played 236 overs in the series and had scored 718 runs, losing 34 wickets. That means they were averaging only 21.11 per wicket and losing a batsman every 6.94 overs. On Wednesday last, the hosts scored 340 in 88.1 overs and lost just two wickets, one of which was the result of an umpiring error from Ian Gould.
Refreshing approach
What added sheen to West Indies' fightback was the positivity their batsmen displayed. Scoring at a rate of almost four an over when the top-order is back in the hut and in such a demanding situation takes some doing. It was Blackwood who set the tone in the morning with his second 50 of the Test, a typically breezy effort which saw him hoist Mohammad Shami over the bowler's head for a nonchalant six. Dowrich proved to be another perky character who kept the scoreboard moving in association with Chase before hitting some crisp boundaries. He too was looking good for a century but Gould's oversight consumed him. But by then, the Chase-Dowrich stand had already put on a precious 144 runs.
Holder, quite a capable batsman himself, then joined forces with Chase to take the team to safety with an unbeaten century partnership. Chase must have surprised many of his team mates too with his organised batting. He played the ball on its merit, but never let go of a scoring opportunity. Against the spinners, Chase used his 6'4 inch frame to reach to the pitch of the ball and negate whatever little turn there was. Interestingly, he employed an open stance for Ashwin, à la Shivnarine Chanderpaul. More or less, he controlled the flow of play throughout the day.
Brief scores: West Indies 196 (Blackwood 62, Ashwin 5-52) and 388 for 6 (Chase 137*, Dowrich 74, Holder 64*, Blackwood 63) drew with India 500 for 9 decl. (Rahul 158, Rahane 108*, Chase 5-121)
