NEW DELHI, Nov 7 (PTI): India�s famed batting line-up suffered a stunning collapse as an inspired West Indies gained the upperhand by taking a vital 95-run first-innings lead in the first cricket Test here today.
After restricting West Indies to 304 all out, riding on Pragyan Ojha�s career-best six for 72, the hosts� batting collpased like a house of cards to be bundled out for a paltry 209 on an unpredictable Feroz Shah Kotla track on a day, which saw as many as 17 wickets fall.
It was a combination of poor shot selection and some spirited bowling by the West Indies that saw India�s high-profile batting-order crumble, though, many of them got the starts.
Virender Sehwag (55), Rahul Dravid (54) and Gautam Gambhir (41) were the notable scorers for the hosts who found it difficult to negotiate the Kotla track, which offered variable bounce.
Skipper Darren Sammy led the way with three for 35, while Ravi Rampaul and Devendra Bishoo chipped in with two wickets apiece. The visitors were 21 for two at close of an eventful second day�s play, extending their overall lead to 116.
Kirk Edwards was batting on 15 while night-watchman Fidel Edwards was yet to open his account as they managed to negotiate Pragyan Ojha and Ravichandran Ashwin after India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni started with spin from both ends.
Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell were the two batsmen to be dismissed. With three full days left, India will seek to dismiss West Indies as quickly as possible to try and come back into the match.
Earlier, Ojha�s maiden five-for haul hastened the West Indies� slide from an overnight 256 for six. But India undid much of Ojha�s good work in the first session.
India�s start was solid as openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir put on 89 runs in 12.3 overs. Both negotiated an eventful 25 minutes as India went to lunch at 39 for no loss in five overs.
Gambhir survived a close lbw shout off Rampaul before Kirk Edwards dropped the left-hander at third slip off Fidel Edwards. And then, Sehwag escaped due to a no-ball by Edwards after the pacer breached through the opener�s defence.
But lady luck smiled on the visitors when Sammy ran out Gambhir off his own bowling in the 13th over of the innings. Gambhir�s dismissal triggered a collapse that saw India lose four wickets, including the one of Sachin Tendulkar, who yet again missed out on an opportunity to record his 100th international ton.
Dravid along with Yuvraj Singh (23 off 39) steadied the ship for a while by putting on 32 runs for the fifth wicket but the latter, seeking to establish his Test career, was once again guilty of throwing away his wicket when Sammy lured him with a ball that seemed to have stopped at the batsman.
Yuvraj committed himself to the shot a tad too early, and Kirk Edwards did the rest at extra covers. The breakthrough West Indies were looking for came right after the tea break.
Wickets of Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin only made matters worse for India. Ishant Sharma (17) tried to offer resistance during his eight-wicket 49-run stand with Dravid, but that did not prove to be enough. The session prior to tea too belonged to the West Indies.
Apart from Tendulkar and Gambhir, they also sent back VVS Laxman and Sehwag. First up was Gambhir. Sammy got a finger to Sehwag�s booming straight drive and the ball went on to hit the stumps on the runner�s end, catching the southpaw well short of the crease.
SCORECARD
West Indies 1st innings: KC Brathwaite st Dhoni b Ojha 63, KOA Powell lbw b Ojha 14, KA Edwards c & b Ojha 15, DM Bravo b Ashwin 12, S Chanderpaul lbw b Sharma 118, MN Samuels c Dhoni b Ashwin 15, CS Baugh lbw b Ojha 27, DJG Sammy lbw b Ojha 5, R Rampaul lbw b Ashwin 12, FH Edwards c Sehwag b Ojha 10, D Bishoo not out 0. Extras: (B-4, LB-8, NB-1) 13. Total: (all out in 108.2 overs) 304. Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-45, 3-72, 4-180, 5-200, 6-269, 7-281, 8-281, 9-304, 10-304. Bowling: I Sharma 25-5-80-1, U Yadav 19-5-52-0, PP Ojha 34.2-9-72-6, R Ashwin 27-4-81-3, V Sehwag 2-0-5-0, Yuvraj Singh 1-0-2-0.
India 1st Innings: Gautam Gambhir run out 41, Virender Sehwag st Baugh b Bishoo 55, Rahul Dravid c Sammy b Rampaul 54, Sachin Tendulkar lbw b Edwards 7, VVS Laxman c Baugh b Bishoo 1, Yuvraj Singh c Edwards b Sammy 23, MS Dhoni b Sammy 0, R Ashwin c Baugh b Sammy 0, I Sharma c Baugh b Samuels 17, P Ojha not out 3, U Yadav b Rampaul 0. Extras: (B-5, WD-1, NB-2) 8. Total: (all out in 52.5 overs) 209. Fall of wickets: 1-89, 2-100, 3-113, 4-120, 5-152, 6-152, 7-154, 8-203, 9-209. Bowling: F Edwards 11-1-57-1, R Rampaul 14.5-2-44-2, D Sammy, 8-1-35-3, D Bishoo 14-0-55-2, M Samuels 5-0-13-1.
West Indies 2nd innings: K Brathwaite lbw b Ojha 2, K Powell c Gambhir b Ashwin 0, K Edwards batting 15, F Edwards batting 0. Extras: (LB-4) 4. Total: (For 2 wickets in 14 overs) 21. Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-17. Bowling: P Ojha 7-3-7-1, R Ashwin 6-3-8-1, Yuvraj Singh 1-0-2-0.
