MUMBAI, India, CMC – Batting star Sachin Tendulkar agonisingly missed out on his 100th international century but Ravi Ashwin stroked a surprise maiden one to frustrate West Indies and send the third and final Test ambling toward a draw here yesterday.
Tendulkar fell for 94 with the milestone in sight as India piled up 482 all out in their first innings on the fourth day of the contest at the Wankhede Stadium.
With a first innings lead of 108, West Indies disappointingly lost two wickets before the close to finish the day on 81 for two.
Opener Kraigg Brathwaite (34 not out) and Darren Bravo (27 not out) have so far combined in a 51-run, third wicket stand to rescue the Caribbean side from a tentative position of 30 for two.
Ashwin emerged as the unlikely story of the day, however, carving out a fluent 103 to put India past the follow-on and crush West Indies’ hopes of forcing a positive result.
In the process, the 25-year-old off-spinner who made his Test debut in the Delhi opener three weeks ago, joined two illustrious Indians Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar in scoring a hundred and taking five wickets in an innings.
His heroics were necessary after VVS Laxman fell without adding to his overnight 32 in the day’s second over, and then Tendulkar and captain MS Dhoni (8) also perished, as three wickets fell for 44 runs.
Ashwin found an ally in Virat Kohli who got 52 and together they added 97 for the seventh wicket, wrenching the advantage back from the Windies.
The right-handed Ashwin was entertaining, striking 15 fours and two sixes in an innings that required just 117 balls and lasted three hours.
Kohli, in contrast, hit five fours off 111 balls in just over 2-1/2 hours at the crease.
Off-spinner Marlon Samuels (3-74) and seamer Ravi Rampaul (3-95) finished with three wickets apiece while captain Darren Sammy snared two for 90 with his medium pace.
The morning was all about Tendulkar who has been searching for the elusive hundred for eight months. His 99th century came in the World Cup game against South Africa in Nagpur in March but he has been frustrated since then.
However, it was the West Indies who drew first blood in the session when Laxman scooped the first ball he faced, scooping pacer Fidel Edwards’ first delivery to Marlon Samuels at Gully.
Tendulkar, though, was at his very best and marched aggressively towards his landmark, adding 27 runs from just 20 deliveries.
He drove Rampaul straight for four, unfurled another gem through extra cover off Edwards before upper-cutting the same bowler for six as he raced into the 90s.
Disappointment was to follow as he edged Rampaul to second slip where Sammy took a sharp chance shoulder high.
Dhoni had his stumps shattered by Sammy as India slumped to 331 for six but Ashwin and Kohli staged the recovery that broke the Windies hearts.
Ashwin was daring, getting off the mark with a four off Rampaul through the slips before playing a series of more convincing strokes.
He brought up the half-century stand with a six off Devendra Bishoo, dancing down the pitch and lofting the leg-spinner over long-on before later belting the same bowler over wide long on for another six, to celebrate his own fifty.
Kohli clipped an ordinary delivery from Bishoo to Fidel Edwards at mid-on but Ashwin carried on unfazed, mo
ving into the 90s with consecutive fours off Samuels and reached three figures with another off-side boundary behind square off Rampaul.
He top-edged the next delivery to Adrian Barath at mid-wicket to be last out, one of four wickets to fall for 54 runs.
West Indies started their second innings poorly when Barath (3) drove left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (2-27) to Laxman at cover with the score on six and Kirk Edwards played an injudicious shot and was stumped off the same bowler for 17 at 30 for two.
WEST INDIES 1st Innings 590 (Darren Bravo 166; Ravi Ashwin 5-156)
INDIA 1st Innings
(overnight 281 for three)
G Gambhir c wkp Baugh b Rampaul 55
V Sehwag b Sammy 37
R Dravid b Samuels 82
S Tendulkar c Sammy b Rampaul 94
VVS Laxman c Samuels b F Edwards 32
V Kohli c F Edwards b Bishoo 52
*+M Dhoni b Sammy 8
R Ashwin c Barath b Rampaul 103
I Sharma c Bravo b Samuels 5
V Aaron b Samuels 4
P Ojha not out 0
Extras (b1, w4, nb5) 10
TOTAL (all out, 135.4 overs) 482
Fall of wickets: 1-67 (Sehwag), 2-138 (Gambhir), 3-224 (Dravid), 4-287 (Laxman), 5-322 (Tendulkar), 6-331 (Dhoni), 7-428 (Kohli), 8-455 (Sharma), 9-463 (Aaron), 10-482 (Ashwin)
Bowling: F Edwards 28-4-116-1, Rampaul 24.4-3-95-3, Sammy 26-3-90-2, Samuels 17-0-74-3, Bishoo 40-6-106-1.
WEST INDIES 2nd innings
A Barath c Laxman b Ojha 3
K Brathwaite not out 34
K Edwards st Dhoni b Ojha 17
D Bravo not out 27
TOTAL (2 wkts, 34 overs) 81
To bat: K Powell, M Samuels, +C Baugh, *D Sammy, F Edwards, D Bishoo, R Rampaul.
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Barath), 2-30 (K Edwards)
Bowling: Ojha 15-2-27-2, Sharma 5-2-12-0, Aaron 3-0-14-0, Ashwin 8-0-20-0, Sehwag 2-0-3-0, Tendulkar 1-0-5-0.
Position: West Indies lead by 189 runs with eight wickets intact.
Toss: West Indies.
Umpires: A Hill, B Oxenford; TV – S Tarapore.
