Live Score: Dhoni wicket puts match in balance

Posted In : Sports
(added 26 Nov 2011)

3:55 p.m. Dhoni departs! Just the sort of a thing West Indies wanted. Dhoni played a full-length delivery by Rampaul towards the swerving cover fielder Edwards, who took a good catch. 3:55 p.m. Dhoni departs! Just the sort of a thing West Indies wanted. Dhoni played a full-length delivery by Rampaul towards the swerving cover fielder Edwards, who took a good catch.

Live Score: Dhoni wicket puts match in balance

MS Dhoni c K Edwards b Rampaul 13 (37) 3:30 p.m. Dhoni and Kohli are steering India towards a successful chase as they need 55 in a minimum of 15 overs. Sounds easy! 3:00 p.m. The 52-run stand between Laxman and Kohli has been broken as the former was tempted to play a rash stroke by Rampaul. Laxman, who was batting fluently till then, tries to manufacture a pull shot from outside off off a bouncer. He top edges, giving a simple catch to Barath at mid-on. India still 78 runs away.

VVS Laxman c Barath b Rampaul 31 (53) 2:10 p.m. Tea break! Though the Windies took four wickets in the session, the 132 runs India scored in 34 overs have kept them in the hunt. Kohli is looking good as Laxman seems to be guiding the young man. So 95 to get in a minimum of 30 overs with six wickets in hand is a tailor-made situation for Kohli and the next-man-in Dhoni. Can West Indies save the embarrassment of a whitewash?

1:40 p.m. Dravid departs! The afternoon keeps getting better for the Windies. Surely India will drop anchor now as Dravid's flick off Samuels finds Ramdin in deep midwicket. At 113 for four, India can't keep playing their strokes.Rahul Dravid c sub (Ramdin) b Samuels 33 (49) 1:23 p.m. Double blow! This time its Tendulkar who has to pack his bags. Superb catch by Kirk Edwards at short midwicket. A check-drive from Tendulkar, probably the ball rose off the rough unexpectedly high. Will India continue to dream about a win now? 106 for three.

Sachin Tendulkar c K Edwards b Samuels 3 1:20 p.m. Out! Sehwag is walking back. Attempts a reverse paddle sweep, if that is some shot in the book. It ends up in a leading edge straight to fine leg. India 104 for two. Virender Sehwag c Sammy b Bishoo 60 1:15 p.m. The chase is hotting up here with Sehwag's fifty! He takes just 61 balls to race to the landmark, putting India on course to chase down 243. Still 150 needed, though.

12:55 p.m. Sehwag continues his innings in usual manner, hitting balls if they are in his zone. He is also given a life by Sammy, dropping a catch while diving to his left in the slip off Marlon Samuels. Dravid, too, doing his job well, giving the strike to Sehwag. 12:20 p.m. Gambhir falls! Soft dismissal! The open-bat-face drive finds Sammy at point. Edwards the bowler. India 19 for one, chasing 243 to win.

G Gambhir c Sammy b F Edwards 12 11:30 a.m. Much needed lunch after a face-paced morning! After taking the last eight West Indian wickets for just 53 runs on Saturday, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have negotiated the three tricky overs before the lunch break to reach 16 for no loss, needing 227 more runs in a minimum of 61 overs.

Stay tuned for an exciting last two sessions of this roller-coaster third Test. West Indies Second Innings 11:10 a.m. It's all over! West Indies lose their last two wickets - Darren Sammy and Devendra Bishoo - in the same over of Ashwin as India bowl the West Indies out for a meagre 134, needing 243 to win the Third Test and make it a clean sweep. They have 64 overs in all to achieve the target.

D Bishoo lbw b Ashwin 0 (1) D Sammy c Dhoni b Ashwin 10 (22) 10:47 a.m. Sixth for Ojha! The slog sweep, or the suicide sweep, from Rampaul finds Tendulkar at deep square leg. Nobody imagined this but it's all going India's way at the moment. Windies 237 ahead now with just two second-innings wickets in hand. Ravi Rampaul c Tendulkar b Ojha 0 (14) 10:36 a.m. Seventh wicket falls! It's happening too quickly here. Ashwin gets his second as his floater catches Powell right in front. Windies 120/7 and the lead is just 228 as of now. Match on!

K Powell lbw b Ashwin 11 (29) 10:27 a.m. Ashwin joins the party, gets rid of Carlton Baugh. A classical offspinner's dismissal. Flighting it outside off, Ashwin invited Baugh to drive away from his body, but the spin imparted on the ball takes it through the gate to crash into the stumps.

Carlton Baugh b Ashwin 1 10:25 Ojha takes two in one over to complete another five-for! Exactly what the doctor ordered for India. Three wickets inside the first hour has surely set the cat amongst the pigeons in the Windies camp. First he accepts a return catch from Bravo and then foxes Samuels with a quicker one as Dhoni takes the bails off, catching Samuels out of his crease. It's 112 for 5.

Marlon Samuels st Dhoni b Ojha 0 (4) Darren Bravo c & b Ojha 48 (105) 9:55 a.m. First wicket of the day! Pragyan Ojha gets his third wicket of the innings as he gets Kraigg Brathwaite caught at point by Sachin Tendulkar. The dogged West Indies batsman scores 35 before making his way back to the pavilion.

K Brathwaite c Tendulkar b Ojha 35 (115) 9:10 a.m. Hello and welcome to the last day of the third and final Test between India and the West Indies. Though it's a weekend, it would be foolhardy to expect the Wankhede to be full on Saturday, the way it was on Friday, as the match is heading towards a stalemate.

Day four summary: Mumbaikars flocked the Wankhede on Friday to see their favourite son reach the milestone of hundred international centuries, but the 38-year-old batsman fell six short of the magical landmark. However, the maiden Test ton by offspinner R Ashwin would have given some joy to otherwise disappointed Indian supporters.

Ashwin became only the third Indian to claim a five-for and score a century in the same match. Only India’s yesteryears heroes Pauli Umrigar and Vinoo Mankad were able to do it before. India's innings finished at 482, 108 shy of the West Indies first innings total of 590. Pragyan Ojha gave the Indians a little hope of turning the session in their favour by claiming the two top-order batsmen of Windies, but first innings' centurion Darren Bravo, along with Kraigg Brathwaite, ensured that the Caribbean side end the fourth day without losing any more wickets at 81 for two to lead India by 189 runs.

What to expect: The possibility of a draw looms large, unless the West Indies collapse in the manner they did in the first innings of the Kolkata Test where they lost eight wickets in the first session of play. But West Indies are already 189 runs ahead and India would not like to chase anything beyond 250 if they get a chance to do so.

(added 26 Nov 2011) / 1004 views

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