india 482 (Ashwin 103, Tendulkar 94, Dravid 82) and 242 for 9 (Kohli 63, Sehwag 60) drew with West Indies 590 (Bravo 166, K Edwards 86, Powell 81) and 134 (Ojha 6-47, Ashwin 4-34)
The draw was the predicted result at the start of the final day in Wankhede. It was a draw alright, but instead of the widely expected borefest, the teams served up one of the most extraordinary days of Test cricket, with the game ending with the scores level for only the second time in Tests.
R Ashwin was the Man of the Match and Man of the Series, but wasn't the man of the moment for India when they needed two off the final delivery - he took a single, but bizarrely didn't set off immediately for the tight second that could have sealed the win, and the clean sweep for India. He was run out, ending an hour of almost unbearable tension that showcased Test cricket's slow-burn thrills. Fidel Edwards, a man renowned for securing nail-biting draws with the bat, had done the job with the ball in the final over this time.
A comatose Test had sprung to life on the final morning in Mumbai, as Pragyan Ojha and Ashwin ran through the West Indian line-up courtesy a combination of quality spin and atrocious shot selection. That left India a tricky 243 to get in 64 overs. Virender Sehwag then concocted another brisk half-century to set the early pace, before Virat Kohli forged his second Test fifty in two days to seal his place at No. 6 for the Boxing Day Test and keep India's pursuit on course.
With ten overs to go, India were well in control - 42 short with Kohli and Ashwin at the crease, both youngsters brimming with confident after making plenty of runs on the fourth day, and having their places for the tour of Australia confirmed earlier in the day. The pair nervelessly took India to within 19, and victory seemed a formality. That was when Kohli top-edged a catch to a hobbling Darren Sammy at gully.
That put Ashwin in the spotlight. He has revelled under responsibility all series, and but the biggest test of his temperament had just arrived. He was remarkably composed, often counselling the tail-enders as the match wound its way to an impossibly tense finish. The most common chant in Indian grounds is the "Sachin, Sachin" mantra with the first word stretched out, and the second short and sharp. A similar chant went around the Wankhede, only Sachin's name was replaced by Ashwin's.
Tea India 482 and 148 for 4 (Laxman 19*, Kohli 20*) need 95 to beat West Indies 590 and 134 (Ojha 6-47, Ashwin 4-34)
A comatose Test sprang to life on the final morning in Mumbai as Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin brought back memories of the years when India's spinners regularly ran through the opposition. A combination of atrocious shot selection from the inexperienced West Indies batsmen and generous turn left India 64 overs to try to chase 243 and complete a rare clean sweep of a three-Test series.
Virender Sehwag then concocted another brisk half-century to set the early pace, but his exit and a couple of other quick strikes left India pondering whether to go all-out for a thorny target. VVS Laxman and Virat Kohli survived a nervy phase before picking up some momentum to bring India within 95 runs of victory at tea.
Neither team would have been confident of a win at the start of play, with only 22 wickets falling in four days. It had taken India nearly six sessions to get eight West Indian wickets in the first innings, but it required little more than an hour on Saturday morning at the Wankhede. The difference between West Indies' totals was 456, the fourth largest in Test history, yet again highlighting their inability to put together two solid innings.
Darren Bravo and Kraigg Brathwaite began the morning with the same assurance they had shown on the fourth evening, as India attacked with only one spinner early on. Twenty minutes in, the game was meandering along with the lead nearing 200 when Brathwaite slapped a slightly short delivery towards Sachin Tendulkar at gully. There was still nothing major for West Indies to worry about as Bravo, West Indies' best batsman, brought up 400 runs in the series, and fluently crashed Varun Aaron for consecutive boundaries.
That changed in one over, during a spell in which Ojha gave the ball plenty of air and got it to spin. He floated a tossed-up delivery that invited the drive, Bravo responded by trying to carve it through his favoured cover region, only to edge it back to the bowler. In the absence of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the most-experienced batsman in the side was Marlon Samuels. The shot he played, though, hardly befitted his senior position in the side. Samuels jumped out three deliveries into his innings, looking to heave Ojha against the turn and out of the park. He made no contact, and Dhoni did the rest.
It was then time for Ashwin to contribute. Cartlon Baugh capped his horror match with an expansive drive that left acres of space between the bat and pad for an offbreak to saunter through on its way to the top of middle stump. Suddenly, every delivery seemed like getting a wicket. Kieran Powell, a naturally aggressive batsman, was teased by a 7-2 leg-side field, enticing him to go for the big hit against Ojha's turn. He resisted that temptation but was undone by an Ashwin arm-ball, struck on the pad after playing for the turn.
West Indies were down to 120 for 7, with all their recognised batsmen dismissed. Rolling over the tail was all too easy for India's spinners, leaving the mighty home team's batsmen a challenge over the final two sessions.
Gautam Gambhir stabbed a wide ball to gully to exit early, but Sehwag capitalised on three reprieves to power his way to a half-century. It wasn't the usual blast-from-the-start innings from Sehwag, his first boundary coming only in the eighth over. Once he got going, though, it was classic Sehwag. He pulled fast bowlers from outside off for fours, didn't give the spinners must respect, and had jaws dropping after an insouciant late dab to the third-man boundary.
His dismissal was also entertaining, top-edging to short fine leg while attempting to reverse sweep a full toss. Sachin Tendulkar was done in by the extra bounce from Samuels, and Dravid's also chipped a catch to midwicket soon after. With India at 113 for 4, thoughts turned to whether they would shut shop as they had when faced a tricky chase in the third Test in Dominica. Kohli and Laxman, though, showed India still had the intent to go for the win.
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