By Shreyas Sharma From Cricket Yahoo – Reproduced from Mail Today. Copyright 2013. MTNPL. All rights reserved.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul will play his 150th Test while the focus remains solidly on Tendulkar’s 200th.

Eight West Indians have played over 100 Tests, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s nearest ‘rival’ as the most capped player for that group of islands is the long-retired Courtney Walsh with 132.

It is unfortunate, though probably fitting, that even as he takes the field for his 150th Test, Chanderpaul won’t be the man in the spotlight.

For much of his career, Chanderpaul lived in the shadow of his illustrious fellow middle-order resident Brian Lara and even now, few include him in any discussion about great batsmen of the last two decades.

Right from marking his guard by knocking the bail into the ground to his front- on stance and the impossible technique he uses to guide the ball into the gaps, there doesn’t seem to be an orthodox bone in his body.

Yet, he stands just 103 runs short of the 11,000-run mark and averages almost 52.

“As an individual, you have to pick yourself up to go to the nets, do a lot of work, practise the way you bat in the game. There are so many things you have to do – training, keeping the fitness and everything that takes to get on the park and get your work done.”

“And also maintain a standard you think will help you to succeed at the highest level,” Chanderpaul had said after training here on Tuesday.

Through years of mediocrity and false dawns, Chanderpaul has been the Windies’ unheralded and unassuming batting rock, and skipper Darren Sammy wants his team to make amends now.

“It is a big milestone for him and for us as West Indians. Obviously, it will be overshadowed by Sachin’s 200. But we as a team would go out and work hard for Shiv.”

“Like Sachin, everybody can see he has not changed. When it comes to his batting, the way he prepares, he has been the same ever since I have known him.”

“You could see the way it reflects on his game. He practises exactly the same way he wants to go out and play. I hope he goes on to score 150 in his 150th match. I don’t know if I could say the same for Sachin, since that means he will get a double. But Shiv has been very important to us,” Sammy said.

“The young players could take a page out of his book, the way he prepares. Hopefully, he will be around the dressing room for a few years to come. He looks fit, feels good and is scoring runs.”

PHOTO:

Chanderpaul is just 103 runs short of the 11,000-run mark and averages almost 52. (IANS)

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Related story:

Spin bowling erodes Windies momentum, again

From Caribbean 360

PHOTO: West Indies players form a guard of honour for Sachin Tendulkar

MUMBAI, India, Thursday November 14, 2013, CMC – Spin bowling sparked another typical West Indies batting collapse as India took control on day one of the second test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday

West Indies crumbled for 182 before tea, eroded by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, and India in reply reached 157 for two at the close, well within sight of first innings lead.

Retiring batting great Sachin Tendulkar, playing his 200th and final Test, is not out on 38 and rookie Cheteshwar Pujara not out on 34.

Shane Shillingford continues to be the Windies’ most effective bowler on this trip, grabbing 2-46 from 12 overs.

The visitors lost their last seven wickets for 42 runs in the space of 89 deliveries between lunch and tea.

Kieran Powell hit the top score of 48 and all of the West Indies’ top seven batsmen reached double figures, but none of them carried on.

West Indies hopes for a strong start had taken a dent, when they reached 93 for two at lunch, after Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo fell.

Gayle, playing his 99th Test, was caught at gully for 11 in the first half-hour after the Windies were sent in to bat on an unusually helpful, grassy pitch, when he played back defensively to a delivery from Mohammad Shami that popped from a good length.

Bravo joined fellow left-hander Powell and they eased the pain of the early loss, when they put on 61 for the second wicket.

Fortune favoured them both, when Bravo, on four, edged Shami just short of second slip fielder Murali Vijay, and Powell, on 21, edged Kumar to first slip, where Ashwin put him down.

In between their mis-steps, the two young left-handers batted with confidence. Bravo got into gear, when he drove Shami elegantly through cover for his second four, and Powell typically looked in fine touch with his first boundary, a languid off-drive off Kumar, showing his class.

The two young left-handers appeared to be batting for the interval, when Bravo was caught behind for 29 off Ashwin, playing defensively forward to a delivery that spun and bounced.

After lunch, West Indies suffered an early set-back, when Powell essayed a whip and was caught at short leg off Ojha, when the ball lobbed from the pad from a thin inside edge in the third over after the interval.

This brought Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the crease. Playing his 150th Test under the maroon cap, he and Marlon Samuels stitched a stand of 43 for the third wicket to stem the fall of wickets.

But Samuels was caught at slip off Ojha for 19, when he played defensively forward to a delivery that spun sharply, setting the collapse in motion.

Chanderpaul was unable to mark his momentous appearance with a milestone innings, falling three overs later caught at first slip for 25, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar squared him up and found his edge with a well-pitched delivery that moved across him.

Narsingh Deonarine, one of two changes to the Windies line-up, was fortunate on 12, when Pujara dropped him at slip off Ojha, but he was soon caught at gully for 21, playing defensively forward to Ashwin.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy emerged with his side 162 for six and lasted just two balls before he was caught at short mid-wicket off Ashwin for a duck, essaying an ill-advised slog/sweep.

After this, there was little or no resistance from the tail-enders, as Ojha brought the innings to a close, when he had Shannon Gabriel caught behind for one to claim five wickets in an innings in a Test for the sixth time.

The Windies were put under early pressure, when openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay shared 77 for the first wicket.

But Shillingford snared them in the space of three deliveries, when he had Dhawan caught at deep mid-wicket for 33 and Vijay caught at leg-slip for 43.

The visitors formed a guard of honour to welcome Tendulkar to the crease with accompaniment of a loud roar from a crowd that nearly packed out the stadium.

For more on this story go: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/sports/1084517.html#ixzz2ke5XJAVD