More than any other team, the West Indies have found an assortment of ways of turning wine into water, rather than the other way round that was a specialty of their great predecessors of the 1980s.
The present generation were at it again at Eden Gardens in Kolkata at the start of the Sachin Tendulkar Farewell Tour last week. This time the repeated transformations were more like wine into vinegar, leading to the three-day, innings defeat in the first Test on Friday; it was just the latest in a growing list (SEE: ‘Letting It Slip’ box).
At the end of the first day, the advantage of the toss on a true pitch that would wear as the match progressed had been squandered.
From the promising beginnings of 138 for two, the last eight West Indies wickets tumbled for 98,
