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West Indies hold
on for a draw in the Second Test |
Link to Scorecard
The
Guyanese pair of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and
Ramnaresh Sarwan came good twice with the bat to
ensure that the West Indies drew the second Test
of the The Frank Worrell Trophy. In what was the
first ever Test played at the Sir Viv Richards
Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, weather
interruptions and the sloppy drainage system
took off a significant amount of time in the 5
days. The Test Match saw the Australian Captain
enter into the Elite 10,000-run club to join
Gavaskar, Border, Tendulkar, Lara, Steve Waugh
and Dravid.
Australia had won the toss and decided to bat
first against a West Indian attack that was
strengthened by the inclusion of Jerome Taylor.
The Aussies had a good opening day losing just
three wickets while their scoring rate wasn't
matching the usual high standards. They closed
the first day at 259 for 3 riding on Opener
Simon Katich's unbeaten hundred. On the second
day, the other overnight batsman - Michael
Clarke went onto score his hundred and the
Aussies declared their first innings at 479 for
7 in 136 overs. Simon Katich had made 113 (from
248 balls with 9 fours) and Michael Clarke, the
other centurion made 110 (from 187 balls with 12
fours). There were also half centuries from
Ricky Ponting (65 from 123 balls with 5 fours)
and Brett Lee (an unbeaten 63 from 82 balls with
8 fours and a six). Jerome Taylor took 3 wickets
for the West Indies.
By close of play on the second day, Windies
found themselves at 125 for 3 after a promising
innings from opener Xavier Marshall (53 from 69
balls with 8 fours). Day three had very little
in store for both teams with rain batting out
the first two sessions. In the little play that
was possible, West Indies did well losing just
the wicket of Sarwan (65 from 146 balls with 4
fours and a six). The homeside was sitting well
at 255 for 4 with Chanderpaul and Bravo in a
nice partnership. The next day, Brett Lee got
charged up to take 5 wickets in quick succession
to have Windies collapse from 314 for 4 to 341
for 9! Bravo was the first to be dismissed on
Day 4 after making 45 (from 127 balls with 2
fours and 3 sixes). Towards the end, Shivnarine
Chanderpaul was left stranded on an unbeaten 107
(from 236 balls with 12 fours). West Indies got
bowled out for 352 with their innings lasting
107 overs. Brett Lee's figures were 21-7-59-5
while Mitchell Johnson and Michael Clarke
chipped in with a couple of wickets.
By the close of play on the fourth day, the
Aussies got themselves enough runs on the board
to set up a target and thus giving themselves an
opportunity of taking 10 wickets on the final
day. Australia had scored 244 for 6 in less than
62 overs to give a target of 372. This time
around, Phil Jaques got going with 76 (from 136
balls with 8 fours and a six) while getting good
company from makeshift opener Mike Hussey, who
made 40. Ponting with 38 and Symonds with an
unbeaten 43 were the other two significant
contributors.
The final day started with Lee and Clark
sending back both openers to create pressure on
the West Indies. However, Sarwan (128 from 241
balls with 18 fours and a six) defied their
hopes with the match saving partnership of 133
along with Chanderpaul (77 not out from 180
balls with 8 fours) which had lasted 53 overs.
West Indies bravely fought out with no rain
interruption surviving 93 overs and losing five
wickets for 266. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the
obvious choice for the Man of the Match award.
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