Seamers keep it interesting

Ishant,Praveen pick a wicket each as West Indies look at salvaging a draw

It almost seems like Ramnaresh Sarwan is not thinking about cricket when he walks onto the field these days. Locals talk about problems off the field affecting his cricket. Some even hint at the Chris Gayle saga affecting not only Sarwan,but a majority of the senior players. But no batsman,after all,is exempt from going through a bad phase. Sarwan himself spoke about the added responsibility on his shoulders after scoring a half-century during the ODI series and about coping with it.

Whatever the case be,the 31-year-old Guyanese batsman at times even seems disillusioned while batting in the middle. While he always was an edgy starter,so far in the Test series against India-and even in the two matches against Pakistan Sarwan has looked more than just unsure of his off-stump,playing flashy strokes to balls which could have been left alone.

Right through the course of this tour,he has been all at sea against Ishant Sharmas sharp in-swingers. That wretched hamstring injury that wrecked 2010 he averaged less than 10 last year seems to have left an indelible impact. The openers havent helped Sarwans cause either,failing to put on any partnership of note. And once again on Saturday,as is the norm in this series,Sarwan walked out early.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni had declared the Indian innings,and handed the hosts a chance,a slight one anyway,at chasing down a total at four runs an over. And thanks to the declaration,Sarwan had a great chance to put his recent misery behind him. He could have exorcised his ghosts with a solid knock,even if it were to save the Test for the West Indies.

There did seem to be an added sense of purpose to Sarwans walk to the crease this time around,and he played his most authoritative shot of the series soon after. Facing his first delivery,he hit a fearsome cut shot off Praveen Kumar to the boundary,raising hopes of possible redemption. Those hopes lasted only seven balls more,as Sarwan attempted a loose cut shot and edged Praveen to Suresh Raina in the slip-cordon. Sarwan smashed his bat against his helmet,and walked away into the distance. He had let his team down yet again. It was indeed a pitiable sight. He was on his own,and he would have sensed the dark clouds building up all around his Test career.

But while Sarwans Test career continued to be blacked under a dark shadow,the sky was clearer over the Kensington Oval on Day Five. The rains stayed away,allowing for a full day of cricket,much to the joy of the Saturday crowd,who were allowed to walk in through the gates for free,most of whom managed to catch the better end of Fidel Edwardss five-wicket haul.

A total of 83 overs Dhoni would have thought were enough to bowl out the West Indies,who have continued to struggle with their batting. And his view received an early justification,as Lendl Simmons fell to a loose shot after a couple of edgy boundaries. That is before Sarwan followed suit.

Story continues below this ad

But while his career begins to look increasingly bleak and mired in a cloud of qualms,there was some good news for the future-both in the second Test and generally- for West Indies,with Darren Bravo looking solid at 46,and veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul ably assisting him in keeping the Indians at bay.