Ishant Gets Five, Bhajji Completes 400 Keep WI to 204

Dominica: India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh became the 11th bowler in history to capture 400 Test wickets, as West Indies were dismissed for 204 in their first innings in the rain-hit third Test on Thursday. Abhinav Mukund was unbeaten on six while Murali Vijay just managed to open his account as India crawled to eight for no loss in four overs before the heavens opened up in the post-tea session.

But Ishant Sharma, the most successful of all the bowlers in the series, upstaged Harbhajan, taking 5-77 from 21.3 overs on the rain-affected second day at Windsor Park.

Harbhajan, playing in his 96th Test, bowled Carlton Baugh for a top score of 60 about an hour and 20 minutes after lunch to achieve the milestone. Only former captains Anil Kumble (619) and Kapil Dev (434) have taken more wickets for India than Harbhajan.

He is also the fourth spin bowler to take 400 wickets in Tests, following in the footsteps of fellow off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, whose 800 scalps are the most in Tests, Australia's Shane Warne (708) and Kumble.

Sharma however, followed up his 6-55 in the first innings of the drawn second Test Oval in Bridgetown with another impressive spell of fast bowling, taking his tally to 21 wickets at 14.04 apiece in the three-Test series.

Sharma made the breakthrough for India, when he cut short a counter-attacking stand of 59 for the sixth wicket between Baugh and Darren Bravo, after West Indies continued from their lunch-time total of 128 for five. The beanpole fast bowler had Bravo caught behind for 50, playing defensively forward to a well-pitched delivery.

The West Indies left-hander struck eight fours from 134 balls. India continued to leak runs, and West Indies inched closer to the 200-run mark, when their captain Darren Sammy joined Baugh, and put on a valuable 41 for the seventh wicket.

Harbhajan however, stemmed the flow of runs, and triggered a batting collapse that saw West Indies lose their last four wickets for five runs from 57 balls, when he had Sammy caught at forward short leg for 20.

India's champion off-spinner then reached his landmark, when Baugh, whose innings contained six fours and one six from 79 balls made room to cut, played over the top of the delivery, and had his stumps shattered. Harbhajan ended with 2-26 from 15 overs.

Sharma then returned to wrap up the tail, removing Fidel Edwards for three and Devendra Bishoo for a duck in successive overs. Before lunch, India had continued to exploit the fragile West Indies batting line-up, removing Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels, when play resumed 20 minutes later than regularly scheduled, with West Indies on their overnight total of 75 for three.

Munaf Patel struck in the fourth over of the day, when Chanderpaul was slightly squared-up by a perfectly-pitched delivery moving away, edged, and was caught behind by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for 23, following a 49-run stand with Bravo.

Kumar tightened India's grip, when Samuels, struck by a short, rising ball from Patel, essayed a lazy drive at a delivery outside the off-stump, and was bowled for nine, dragging the ball into the stumps off the inside edge, leaving West Indies 99 for five. Kumar finished with 2-22 from 16 overs.

The Indian bowlers came under a little pressure in the final half-hour before the interval, when Baugh arrived, and inspired some positive play with Bravo.

An imperious drive through extra cover off Sharma brought Bravo his fifth boundary, and Baugh swung Harbhajan over square leg for six before he cut Suresh Raina through square cover for four.

India hold a 1-0 lead in the three Test series, following a 63-run victory inside four days in the first Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica, and a draw in the second Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados

Brief scores
West Indies 204 (Baugh 60, Bravo 50, Ishant 5-77)
India 8 for no loss (Mukund 6*, Vijay 1*)
Status India trail by 196 runs