The Hindu : King Carl and Chanderpaul dictate terms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 13, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

King Carl and Chanderpaul dictate terms

By Vijay Lokapally

S. Chanderpaul and Captain Carl Hooper cross over for a single during their partnership against India. — Photo by V V Krishnan.

GEORGETOWN APRIL 12. Carl Hooper led by example and Shivnarine Chanderpaul played the perfect pupil as the West Indies batted itself into a strong position at lunch on the second day of the first Test on Friday.

At 361 for our, the West Indies can begin to think in terms of a victory.

A masterly display of strokes by Hooper (147 batting) was matched by an aggressive Chanderpaul (106 batting), leaving the Indian attack in shambles. It was clinical annihilation of the bowling which had looked so very effective when Javagal Srinath removed three batsmen in the first session on Thursday.

The Indians actually flattered to deceive as the game drifted away because of the poor line adopted by the bowlers. Srinath looked tired and Anil Kumble strayed too much, giving enough room to the batsmen to cut and pull him. Hooper never allowed Kumble to settle down, hitting him once over the straightfield and on quite a few occasions giving himself the liberty to slam across the line.

With Kumble struggling and Sarandeep Singh not enjoying the confidence of the skipper, the Indian attack lost direction completely in the last session of the first day and the trend continued this morning. The option of Sanjay Bangar as a stock bowler also fell flat since he could do little with the ball and lacked the pace to hurry the batsmen.

Cricket at the Bourda was good value for those who spent money to watch. A poor decision may have caused consternation among the people but the West Indies was placed in quite a healthy state, thanks to some committed show by their batsmen.

Hooper revelled in shots square of the wicket, while Chanderpaul produced a series of straight drives to pick runs at a rapid pace. The ease with which they rotated the strike and picked gaps showed the attack in poor light.

Chanderpaul crosses a milestone

For Chanderpaul, it was quite an eventful innings. It took him past the 3000-run mark in his 52nd Test. It was only his third century in Tests and the second against India, the earlier coming at the same venue in 1997. The 23 half centuries explain Chanderpaul's failure to convert his good form into big knocks.

It was Hooper's 11th Test century and only second as captain. It carried the stamp of the seasoned batsman that he is and there was enough in the innings to highlight his commitment to work on the team's revival.

"It's good to get individual milestones but the team comes first. It was very important for us to get the big partnerships and put the pressure on India," said Hooper.

A three-wicket strike by Srinath was neutralised by a classy century from Hooper and some attractive batting by Chanderpaul. The West Indies recovered through two resolute partnerships. The first between Ramnaresh Sarwan and Hooper worth 113 runs. And then between Hooper and Chanderpaul. It was a perfect potion created by these Guyanese to put some pressure on India which otherwise had made a fine start to the series.

The Indians failed to bowl consistently. Even though Sarwan played a timid shot after tea on Thursday to end an innings when it was at peak, some sound batsmanship by Hooper and Chanderpaul saved the home team embarrassment after it had elected to bat.

The innings by Sarwan showed the 21-year-olds temperament as a sound middle-order as he hit his 10th half century in 18 Tests. He remained the cynosure as he carried the West Indian batting on his shoulders, showing no signs of a back injury that had hampered his progress.

Once Sarwan departed from the stage, Hooper was joined by Chanderpaul and the two played themselves into the hearts of their supporters. It was a difficult period for the West Indies. "Somebody had to come in and get a big score. It turned out to be me," said Hooper, reflecting on his innings of character.

After the tough first-ball chance that he offered to Deep Dasgupta, the determined Hooper did not give even half a chance. It has been a very good patch for him — a century in the Busta International Shield preceding this innings. "I've had these patches before, but I've tended to get out in the 60s and 70s. Its come a little late, but at least better late than never," Hooper said.

His innings was deftly paced. As the innings progressed, Hooper's confidence grew, as did his range of shots. A delightful player of spin, he countered Anil Kumble with authority and played some outstanding shots against the leg-spinner. Once he had dug himself in, Hooper did not allow the bowlers to settle down. His handling of Kumble suggested a tactical ploy as he batted aggressively whenever the leg-spinner tried to innovate.

Even though Srinath played his part well in the first spell, the speedster, too, appeared clueless in the final session when Hooper dealt a few robust blows. There was a pull which stood out as Hooper picked Srinath from the off-stump and the power behind the shot sent the ball crashing into the boards. It was a savage shot which was later matched by his own brilliant footwork against Kumble when he stepped out to hoist him over long-off for a six. This stroke came when Hooper was in the 90s.

"I was a little nervous in the 90s. I didn't want to hang around because I had waited 15 long years for this to happen," said Hooper. It was his first Test century on home ground.

Even conceding there was some discipline in the Indian bowling, it had to be said that there was too much reliance on Srinath. He was not able to maintain his rhythm later in the day and appeared tired which allowed the West Indians to capitalise.

"The pitch here normally helps the batsmen," said Hooper. He had read the situation very well and the support came in a sensational fashion when Chanderpaul walked out and took the attack by the scruff of the neck.

Hooper's century meant that he stole the limelight, but Chanderpaul's role could not be ignored. His attacking instincts, a pleasant surprise for those who have regarded him as a grafter, showed the other side of Chanderpaul's batting. There was a purpose in his charge and the Indians were taken aback with this new force to contend with after Sarwan had presented his wicket with a drive which he failed to keep down.

Chanderpaul's flurry of boundaries gave the contest a limited overs picture. The Indian bowling looked pedestrian when Chanderpaul gave it a pasting and skipper Sourav Ganguly ran out of ideas once Hooper joined the act. The Indians presented a sorry picture but the manner in which off-spinner Sarandeep Singh was left to himself on the field showed the team in extremely poor light.

As Chanderpaul went after Sarandeep and slammed him for four boundaries in two overs, the off-spinner looked around for support, which never came. The least Ganguly could have done as captain was to have offered a word of counsel but he just stayed away. So did the rest with the exception of Rahul Dravid. It was pretty obvious that Sarandeep was alone on the field in that hour of distress. His performance was certainly not as shabby as the wicketkeeper, who continued to fumble on the field and could have made a big contribution had he accepted that first-ball chance offered by Hooper.

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