West Indies v India - Fourth Test

Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

West Indies: CG Greenidge, LG Rowe, GA Headley, IVA Richards, FMM Worrell, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MA Holding, CC Griffith, CEL Ambrose, J Garner.
India: SM Gavaskar, M Prabhakar, DB Vengsarkar, VL Manjrekar, PR Umrigar, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, +SMH Kirmani, J Srinath, EAS Prasanna, BS Bedi.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: Mahboob Shah (PAK) & DJ Constant (ENG)
Toss: India

Whilst the late withdrawal of Malcolm Marshall with a hamstring strain may have disappointed the local fans, fellow Bajan Charlie Griffith was rushed into the side as a late replacement and the bowling of another favourite son of Barbados, Joel Garner, was to the fore as India's batting was destroyed on a remarkable first day at the Kensington Oval. Pataudi won the toss and batted on a pitch that promised to provide both pace and bounce, but he was soon regretting his decision when Gavaskar played on against Ambrose for just 2 in the sixth over. Garner then proceeded to tear through the middle order and when Prabhakar, who had been promoted to open in place of the axed Engineer, finally departed for 33 after two hours at the crease, India were 56-4 and in distinct trouble.

Fee, fi, fo, fum...Ambrose and Garner tore India apart on the first day

Umrigar dug in to provide a small ray of hope for the tourists, but wickets continued to tumble around him as Ambrose now wrought havoc, and shortly after tea India had been bowled out for just 129, Umrigar top-scoring with 35. Ambrose and Garner picked up five wickets apiece as the Indians emphatically failed to deal with West Indies' two giant fast men, but the hosts quickly stumbled to 75-4 in reply as Prabhakar and Srinath, who was making his first appearance of the series, continued the dominance of ball over bat. The West Indians had also been shaken by the sight of Frank Worrell being stretchered off the field after ducking into a ball from Prabhakar that didn't really get up, and although he is expected to make a full recovery, what was later revealed to be a hairline fracture of the skull means that Worrell will take no further part in the series.

So, with the score effectively 75-5 West Indies were now under unexpected pressure, but an epic innings from Viv Richards shifted the momentum firmly back in favour of the hosts over the course of the next couple of sessions. It could have been a different story had Prabhakar clung on to a sharp slip catch off Srinath before Richards had scored, and Prabhakar's error was to prove enormously costly as Richards set about dismantling an Indian attack that lacked the resources to take full advantage of the conditions in the manner of Ambrose and Garner. Richards was actually outscored initially by Dujon, who contributed a valuable fifty as West Indies moved past India's total before stumps on the first day, but on day two he took over as he blasted his way to a stunning century.

Viv Richards' vintage century scuppered any hopes of an Indian recovery

Richards' partnership with Dujon had been worth 87, and with Holding and Ambrose both contributing useful tail end runs West Indies were finally bowled out for 311 and a lead of 182, Richards remaining undefeated on 153, an innings that included eighteen fours and six sixes. India now had it all to do, but in a repeat of the events of the first day the tourists were pounded with pace and by close of play the scoreboard read a sorry looking 124-6, with only a valiant, unbeaten 80 from Gavaskar preventing total humiliation. He fell early on day three though, Ambrose picking him up for the second time in the match as Dujon reacted brilliantly to grab onto the ball on the rebound after Greenidge failed to hold on at first slip, and although Kirmani delayed the inevitable with a defiant innings of 47, India's final total of 187 meant that West Indies required just six runs to win.

With the match not even having reached its halfway stage, Greenidge and Rowe duly secured an emphatic ten wicket victory and along with it the series lead, and although Ambrose's first ever ten wicket haul gave him the man of the match award, Richards' pyrotechnic century will also live long in the memory. After beginning in such positive fashion India now face the prospect of ending the tour with nothing, and their powers of recovery will be put to the test when the teams meet in Antigua for the final match of what has been a highly entertaining series.

Score Summary
IND 1st Inns 129 (Ambrose 5-24, Garner 5-34)
WI 1st Inns 311 (Richards 153*, Dujon 57)
IND 2nd Inns 187 (Gavaskar 84, Kirmani 47; Ambrose 5-64)
WI 2nd Inns 6-0

WEST INDIES WON BY 10 WICKETS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - West Indies 1st innings 159-4 (Richards 54*, Dujon 54*; 36 ov)
Day 2 - India 2nd innings 124-6 (Gavaskar 80*, Kirmani 8*; 40 ov)
Day 3 - West Indies 2nd innings 6-0 (1.5 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ West Indies recorded their first ever 10 wicket victory
▪ Richards passed 6000 career runs
▪ This was the shortest completed Test in terms of overs bowled (190.2)

Man of the Match: CEL Ambrose