Daijiworld Media Network

Kensington, Jun 29: India's Mr Reliable, who seemed to have lost his touch during the first test between India and West Indies last week, had failed miserably in both innings.

But on Tuesday May 28, during the second test match, the Indian batting maestro once again showed his class, and signalled a stunning warning to West Indies that his form was not just limited to against Sri Lanka, Australia or South Africa, and that he can prove his batting prowess against the West Indies too.

His masterly strokes came when India needed them the most - when the top order started to collapse, Laxman stood like a rock, and just before tea on day one, he remained not out on 69 at tea. His excellent innings was a glorious sight to watch at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.

At the same time, when India was 44/4, Raina gave solid support to Laxman, and played some fantastic strokes which helped him to reach his second 50 in consecutive tests.

Raina scored 82 and 27 in the first test, which India won by 63 runs.

In the bowling-friendly Oval pitch, the Indian top order struggled, and one by one the batsmen returned to the pavilion. Mukund scored 11, Vijay 5, Dravid 1 and Kohli 0.

Ramnarayan bagged 3 wickets, and captain Sami bagged one.

At tea, India were 147 for 4.