Ojha bags 10 as India annihilate hapless West Indies again

MUMBAI, Nov 16: The legendary Sachin Tendulkar got a memorable gift on Saturday in his emotionally-charged farewell Test which lasted just about two and a half days as India crushed a hapless West Indies by an innings and 126 runs to complete a 2-0 whitewash in one of the most lopsided contests in recent history.

Starting the day at 43-3, the West Indies were skittled out for a paltry 187 in their second innings as slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha completed a match-haul of 10 wickets taking his second five-for to finish with 10-89. Off-spinning all-rounder took 7-134 in the match.

Only seven sessions of play was possible in the Test in which one of the most respected and celebrated cricketers in the history bid goodbye to the game in front of his home crowd and his family, many of whom watched him for the first time from the stands.

Gauging the emotional atmosphere, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, once the play was extended for 15 minutes after the fall of eighth wicket, introduced Tendulkar to roll his arms for a couple of overs amid deafening cheers from the partisan crowd.

He pitched a googly right, bowled a few loopy half volleys which were cheered by one and all. He didn’t have much luck like the first Test but it didn’t matter as Dhoni replaced Tendulkar with his frontline spinner Ashwin, who got the ninth wicket of the West Indies innings.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, playing his 150th Test offered some resistance in company of Denesh Ramdin (53) as they added 68 for the seventh wicket before the veteran padded up one from Ashwin that went straight after pitching. Chanderpaul scored 41 with four boundaries.

It was Mohammed Shami, who ended the match with a typical inswinging delivery that brought curtains down on Tendulkar’s wonderful career.

Moment after the final West Indies wicket fell, the Indian cricketers converged around the ‘Man of the Moment’ and handed him a souvenir stump as they came one by one to hug him.

After that a relay ‘Guard of Honour’ was given by Dhoni and his men as Tendulkar walked out of the pitch one final time trying hard to conceal his emotions under the floppy sun hat.

On Friday, Tendulkar enthralled with a majestic 74 as India took a mammoth 313-run first innings lead.

The 40-year-old batting legend walked into the ground to resume his innings at his Thursday’s score of 38. But the dream three-figure mark eluded the champion batsman in his farewell match but the Indians rode on Rohit Sharma’s second consecutive century (111 not out) and Cheteshwar Pujara’s 113 to pile up an imposing 495.—Agencies

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES (1st Innings) 182 (K.O.A. Powell 48; P.P. Ojha 5-40, R. Ashwin 3-45).

INDIA (1st Innings):

M. Vijay c Sammy b Shillingford 43

S. Dhawan c Chanderpaul b Shillingford 33

C.A. Pujara c and b Shillingford 113

S.R. Tendulkar c Sammy b Deonarine 74

V. Kohli c Sammy b Shillingford 57

R.G. Sharma not out 111

M.S. Dhoni c Sammy b Best 4

R. Ashwin c and b Gabriel 30

B. Kumar c Sammy b Shillingford 4