Guests stopped at the gates

West Indies, acting fast on Brian Lara8217;s tips that they held a 8220;psychological advantage8217;8217; over India, given their past few encounters, made the match at Nagpur8217;s Vidarbha Cricket Association VCA one for the fans.

A total of 662 runs were scored in a matter of 100 overs 8212; the highest ever number of runs in a one-day match on Indian soil. Riding on the individual brilliance of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, the visitors plundered the Indian attack, making the run-glut look more like a matter of thanks-giving to Rahul Dravid and his men.

Earlier in the day, the Indians had meted out similar treatment to the West Indies after Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir got them off to an excellent start. Later, Mahendra Singh Dhoni played his own sweet cameo that helped the side accelerate from 219 to 338 just in a matter of 11 overs.

India were playing six batsmen, apart from Dhoni, and in case there was more run-making ammunition required, there was plenty in store. In the process, though, Dravid had also taken the risk of playing a bowler less, and this meant that the opposition had a chink in the armour waiting to be exposed.

When their chance came, openers Chris Gayle and Chanderpaul connected the deliveries well on a placid wicket to make the perfect start. The latter carried his bat through the innings, and in the process Gayle and then Lara, just about looked like they were taking their batting to another level.

It was during this time, Dravid later accepted, that he 8220;missed an all-rounder.8217;8217;

8220;After taking over the captaincy, I8217;ve mostly tried to use five bowlers. Looking at the conditions today, we thought of going in with a batsman more. But yes, had there been an all-rounder, it would have been good. Ganguly couldn8217;t bowl today because of injury, but I think Sachin did well,8217;8217; he said.

The VCA wicket, for the umpteenth time, behaved like a batsman8217;s paradise and bowling certainly became all the more difficult. Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar 8212; thanks to their experience 8212; remained the only ones to retain their composure till the end. Zaheer looked extremely impressive with his length and the bounce that came off the lifeless track. Harbhajan, who8217;d warmed the benches for long, got rid of Chris Gayle and Runako Morton with a certain precision in flight and length while Tendulkar matched his wits with none other than Lara and won.

The great left-hander was in smashing form as he kept stepping out of the wicket to have a go. It was then that Tendulkar scripted his dismissal, bowling a delivery wide enough to help Mahendra Singh Dhoni effect an easy stumping.

West Indies came close enough but couldn8217;t win and that is something India badly needed to do to restore their confidence. The pitches in the remaining matches may not necessarily be belters like this one, but the one at VCA could surely be a cause for worry. After the thrashing in South Africa, the BCCI needs to do its homework well and the Indian team can help itself now by asking for a change.

There was a fine at the end of the day for slow over rate. Rahul Dravid was fined ten percent of his match fee, with the rest of the squad getting off with five percent.