- JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Jerome Taylor bowls on the first day of the fourth match in the Digicel Test Series at Sabina Park yesterday. Taylor took 5-50, his first five-wicket haul in Tests, as India were dismissed for 200.Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport
BOWLING WITH pace, aggression and accuracy, young Jamaican Jerome Taylor claimed his first five-wicket haul in Tests as he and his quick bowling partners put the West Indies in the box seat after day one of the fourth and final Test against India at Sabina Park yesterday.
At stumps on a day when the ball finally held sway over the bat, India were dismissed for an even 200 at stumps.
But for a dogged 81 from skipper Rahul Dravid, who featured in a face-saving seventh wicket partnership of 93 with legspinner Anil Kumble, things could have been far worse for the tourists.
PREMIER WRECKER
Taylor was the premier wrecker with tremendous figures of 5-50 off 18.4 overs, but Pedro Collins (1-34 off 19), Dwayne Bravo (2-68 off 24) and Corey Collymore (2-17 off 19) all played their parts against an Indian batting line-up undone by unfamiliar pace and bounce.
With the series locked at 0-0, the hosts now have a chance to press for a series victory if they build up a sizeable first innings lead over the next day or so.
"We have set the game up pretty well," West Indies skipper Brian Lara said after the day's play. "It was a good effort by our bowlers a Herculean one and we need to capitalise now. We only want to bat once in this Test."
The captain was also full of praise for Taylor.
"He's an outstanding young player and really deserved today's success. He's a very promising fast bowler and today he showed how much talent he has."
Both sides went into the match with unchanged line-ups and India, after winning the toss and electing to bat, got off to a dreadful start when dynamic opener Virender Sehwag was caught at short leg by Ramnaresh Sarwan off Collins for a duck and the score on one after only three balls. Unfortunately, Sarwan was struck a nasty blow just below the knee soon after and, although X-rays showed no fractures, it is not known if or when he will return to action.
Wasim Jaffer quickly followed his opening partner back into the sanctuary of the pavilion in the fourth over when he was comprehensively bowled by Taylor for one and the tourists' score flopped to three for two.
Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman set about stonewalling on a pitch which also offered some early lateral movement.
At the first drinks break India had crawled to eight for two and that set the tone for the day as their passive batting allowed Lara to set attacking fields.
CHEER ABOUT
Laxman, fortuitously, received a life soon after the drinks break when Lara put down a simple chance at second slip off the third ball Collymore bowled when he was on six.
The lively contingent of Indian fans finally had something to cheer about when Dravid off-drove Bravo in the 19th over to record his team's first boundary of the day.
Despite some testing deliveries - particularly from Collymore - the experienced pair survived to lunch and inched the score to a non-scintillating 29.
Almost immediately after the break - and at about the time Jens Lehmann saved the day for Germany at the World Cup - either Laxman's patience or concentration wavered as he drove a delivery from Bravo, who was switched to the George Headley Stand end, straight to gully and fell for 18 at 34-3.
Yuvraj Singh arrived on the scene and showed considerably more enterprise than his predecessors as he batted for runs rather than mere survival, but after having struck three boundaries while advancing to 19, he was undone by perhaps the ball of the day a wicked inswinging yorker from the just reintroduced Taylor which smashed into his foot plumb in front of the sticks with the total at 58.
In the same over, new batsman Mohammed Kaif was given a life on nought when he popped up an easy chance to Daren Ganga at gully which was grassed. He didn't overly bother the scorers though as when he reached 13, he was again forced to fend off another rising ball from Taylor and dished it up to Lara at second slip to leave India reeling at 78-5.
FINALLY SUCCUMB
Hard-hitting 'keeper Mahendra Dhoni (three) fell 13 runs later, edging Collymore sharply to Bravo at third slip.
Kumble then came together with his captain and the pair started to right the damage in a fine seventh-wicket partnership of 93 before the legspinner was dismissed for 45 playing on a delivery from Bravo in the 79th over with the scoreboard reading 184.
The introduction of the new ball and Kumble's dismissal may have affected Dravid as he finally succumbed to the miserly Collymore 13 runs later after batting for almost the entire day and facing 215 balls. He struck 10 fours in his stay but most were towards the end of the day when the pacemen were tiring.
With the total at 200, Taylor was brought into the attack for a fourth spell and promptly bowled No. 10 Sreenath for a duck.
Taylor completed his well-deserved five-wicket haul by having square-leg trekking Munaf Patel caught by keeper Denesh Ramdin for another 0.
SCOREBOARD
India
W Jaffer b Taylor 1
V Sehwag c Sarwan b Collins 0
VVS Laxman c sub (Morton) b Bravo 18
R Dravid c wkp Ramdin b Collymore 81
Yuvraj Singh lbw b Taylor 19
M Kaif c Lara b Taylor 13
MS Dhoni c Bravo b Collymore 3
A Kumble b Bravo 45
Harbhajan Singh not out 9 S Sreesanth b Taylor 0
M Patel c wkp Ramdin b Taylor 0
Extras (b2, lb2, w5, nb2) 11 TOTAL (all out, 87.4 overs) 200 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-3, 3-34, 4-58, 5-78, 6-91, 7-184, 8-197, 9-200, 10-200.
Bowling: Collins 19-7-34-1 (w1), Taylor 18.4-4-50-5 (nb1), Bravo 24-3-68-2 (nb1, w1), Collymore 19-11-17-2 (w1), Chanderpaul 5-0-17-0 (w2), Gayle 2-0-10-0.
WEST INDIES: B Lara, C Gayle, D Ganga, R Sarwan, S Chanderpaul, D Bravo, M Samuels, D Ramdin, J Taylor, P Collins, C Collymore.
Toss: India.
Umpires: Rudi Koertzen, Brian Jerling; TV umpire: Norman Malcolm.
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
