KOLKATA : India strengthened their chances of winning the second Test and
the series despite the West Indies' improved batting show after a
first-innings collapse on the third day on Wednesday.The West
Indies, dismissed for 153 in their first innings in reply to India's
mammoth 631-7 declared, did better in their second innings to reach
195-3 at stumps at Eden Gardens in Kolkata The tourists, who
lost the opening Test of the three-match series by five wickets in New
Delhi, face a stiff task to save the match as they still trail by 283
runs with seven wickets in handDarren Bravo was unbeaten on 38
with the help of three sixes and Shivnarine Chanderpaul on 21 not
out.Opener Adrian Barath (62) and Kirk Edwards (60) defied the Indian
attack with a 93-run stand for the second wicket after the early
dismissal of Kraigg Brathwaite (nine), who was caught behind off paceman
Umesh Yadav.Barath and Edwards played some attractive shots
before fast bowler Ishant Sharma broke the stand immediately after the
tea-break when he had Barath caught by Venkatsai Laxman, who held a low
catch to his left at first slip.Barath hit 10 fours in his third Test half-century.Sharma
struck again when he removed Edwards, trapped leg-before after hitting
one six and six fours in his second Test half-century.India
gained the big advantage through their bowlers in the morning session as
the West Indies could add just 119 runs in 36 overs after resuming at
34-2, with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha finishing with 4-64.Yadav, who
took one wicket on Tuesday, struck twice in the morning to finish with
3-23 in only his second Test match, while off-spinner Ravichandran
Ashwin bagged 2-49 The West Indies' batsmen failed to apply
themselves in the first innings on a pitch offering turn and bounce to
spinners, with Bravo top-scoring with 30.Ashwin and Ojha did the early
damage when they took one wicket each before Yadav jolted the West
Indies by removing Bravo and Marlon Samuels (25) in successive
overs.Ojha got a wicket in the fifth over of the day when he trapped
Edwards (16) leg-before for his 50th Test victim in 13 matches after the
batsman had added only four runs to his overnight score of 12.Ashwin,
who got married a day before the Test started, captured a big wicket in
his opening over when he removed in-form Chanderpaul, who was also
trapped leg-before.Chanderpaul, who scored 118 and 47 in the opening Test, was able to contribute just four runs this time.Bravo
and Samuels played some attacking shots during their 46-run stand for
the fifth wicket before falling in the space of seven runs to leave
their team struggling at 99-6.Skipper Darren Sammy tried to
counter-attack but did not last long, caught behind off Ojha immediately
after smashing the spinner for a straight six. He hit one six and two
fours in his 14-ball 18.Ojha finished the innings when he trapped Fidel
Edwards leg-before for 16
