Richards inspires test win with 109

Press, 1 December 1987, Page 56

Richards inspires test win with 109

MOSES MANOHARAN

of Reuters New Delhi Viv Richards produced one of his characteristically brilliant innings when it mattered most, scoring an unbeaten 109 to spur West Indies to a five-wicket victory over India in the first test on Sunday. The West Indian captain, who reached three figures in 102 deliveries with 13 fours, lifted his team from the uncertainty of 111 for four to success at 276 for five. West Indies, who were 80 for two overnight, triumphed 40 minutes before tea on the fourth day at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground. The ultimately emphatic win with a day to spare in the first of four tests represents a heartening sue-

cess for a team going through a period of transition. The result also underlined how much West Indies still rely on a major contribution from Richards the batsman. The Antiguan had a modest record when West Indies drew their two previous test series in Pakistan and New Zealand, but he made a timely return to his best form in five-day cricket with his twenty-first test hundred here. After a contest of sharply fluctuating fortunes — 25 wickets tumbled on the first two days — Richards crucially established his mastery when the Indian attack threatened to swing the match decisively in their favour.

The off-spinner, Arshad Ayub, who accounted for the openers, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes late on the third day, swiftly broke through when play resumed. He produced a fastish delivery from which nightwatchman Winston Davis gave substitute fieldsman Chadrakant Pandit a bat pad catch at silly point. Richards joined Richie Richardson, who made 31, and the fourth wicket pair had realised 30 when Richardson attempted to square drive Kapil Dev. Raman Lamba held a superb diving catch at cover. Richards, who hinted at his fine form early on with a beautifully-struck boundary past square leg off Kapil and

a cover drive off Ayub, responded to Richardson’s departure by unfolding a breathtaking array of shots. The West Indian captain shared a significant fifth wicket partnership of 92 with Gus Logie, who made 46 with seven fours before he was lbw trying to flick to leg a delivery from Ayub that kept low. Richards went to his century by cover-driving Chetan Shanna for four to reach 96 and effortlessly straightdriving the paceman for another four in the same over. Such was Richards’s dominance that Jeff Dujon contributed only 12 to their unfinished sixth wicket stand of 73. The West Indies captain

said after Wards: “I never expected such an easy win, especially on India’s turning track against their spinners.” The touring team appeared unhappy about the five lbw decisions given against them, and a run out involving Roger Harper, but Richards refused to comment on the umpiring beyond saying: “My board has written to me to keep calm. I will not comment But I may have feelings deep down.” The newly-appointed Indian captain, Dilip Vengsarkar, paid tribute to Richards. “We were confident in the morning. But when Richards gets going, it is impossible to stop him. We couldn’t do a thing about that”