Partnership between Laxman, Dhoni power took India past 500

A century strong partnership between VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni took the Indian total past the 500-run mark. West Indies captain Darren Sammy tried everything in his books to get the home team out but to no avail.

Dhoni had also joined the run brigade, slamming a breezy fifty with centurion Laxman doing the balancing act.

Play had resumed after bad light and drizzle forced the umpires to get the pitch covered and take an early lunch on Day 2 of the second Test at Eden Gardens.

The scorecard had read 433/6 at the juncture as the two teams went to an early lunch. The long wait meant that the batsmen would have to get their concentration back right from the scratch while the water made it tougher for the spinners to grip the leather.

Meanwhile, VVS Laxman’s honeymoon with Eden Gardens continued as he slammed another classy century, his 17th in Test cricket, while MS Dhoni was lucky to have survived twice after being caught off no-balls bowled by Roach.

Yuvraj Singh was the only wicket to fall in the morning session as he was claimed lbw by West Indies skipper Darren Sammy at a score of 25 runs. He was peppered with short balls and he struggled to get going.

India had started Day 2 of the second Test against West Indies with the duo of Laxman and Yuvraj trying to see off the pacers in the morning conditions.

The pair had some work cut out for them, looking to set a big first innings total for the Windies to chase as it would be tough so score the same amount of runs batting last on the Eden track. They were off to the right start as Yuvraj started the proceedings with a four, taking the total to 350 runs.

On the first day, ‘The Wall’ had stood tall in the Garden of Eden as the scorecard registered 346/5 at stumps. Dravid was at his supreme best as he scored his 36th Test century and his fifth in the calendar year.

His 140-run partnership with Laxman put India in a great position. Laxman, who has a fantastic record at the Eden Gardens, averaging over 100 with ten matches at the venue, was aiming for another century on the ground as he walked out to bat on a hazy morning of Day 2 and he did that in style.

On this day 22 years ago, a young Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi.