Sachin proves his critics wrong !

There has been criticism in some quarters that the Master Blaster had not played any matchwinning innings, despite his 99 tons in international cricket.

He proved it wrong with a classic 76. He found an able partner in Laxman (58*) and India won the First Test by five wickets.

He may not have scored his 'ton of tons' but clearly it was a matchwinning knock. His tenure at the crease tormented the West Indian bowlers.

Sachin and Laxman were involved in a 71 run partnership which sealed the fate of the Test. Sachin brought up his 62nd half century and all eyes were on him as Laxman hit boundaries after boundaries. But then he misread a Bishoo delivery and was adjudged lbw.

On the other side, Dravid could only add one run to his overnight total of 30. When Sachin was dismissed, India needed only 43 more to win. Yuvraj and Laxman took the score to 254/4 at lunch and India had already plundered 102 runs in the pre lunch session. Then Laxman completed his 55th half century in the post lunch session. Yuvraj continued his bad patch, run for 18!


Ashwin was delighted about his effort and now he is in a happy mood to marry, having established himself in the Indian team as an ace spinner. Said he at the post presentation ceremony. "It's a pleasing effort. I expected to get a few wickets but not so many. I don't know if it's gift for me and my wife before the marriage but it is a very happy feeling to go into my wedding with such a performance".

"It helped that Ojha was bowling so many maidens from the other end. The batsmen did not have the fear of being caught at bat-pad, which is not the best thing for spinners."

"The only thing was the variation in bounce, if you were slower through the air, you would be slower off the pitch. So I bowled a bit quicker in the second innings," said the master carrom ball bowler.

Dhoni was ecstatic.

"That was a big lead, We all felt we did not bat the way we should in the first innings but it was not like panic. We said we will have to make it up. Ojha bowled well in the first innings, Ashwin has got a few variations and he was supported by the other bowlers.

"We got a good start in both innings, and the middle order did well in the second. It was not an easy wicket to score, you had to be aware of the ball that kept low" said the maverick Indian captain.

Sammy said you can only learn via Trial and Error.

"When you play against a top team, you want to create the opportunity to win, we did that in the first innings but did not bat well in the second and that cost us. The pitch played much better on the third and fourth days.

"We want improvement, we have to look to create opportunities and hopefully cash in. We believe we can win matches here" said the demon all rounder.