Chanderpaul, Gayle fail to pull West Indies out of rut

Kingston Jamaica Halfcenturies from veteran lefthanders Shiv Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle did little to revive West Indies from their struggles and New Zealand look heavy favourites to win the opening Test at Sabina ParkChanderpaul stroked an attractive unbeaten 84 and Gayle 64 in his 100th Test but the Caribbean side were repeatedly hurt by bursts from seamer Tim Southee and debutant offspinner Mark Craigg and collapsed to 262 all outSouthee the persistent rightarmer was brilliant with four for 19 while Craig found traction from the flat surface to finish with four for 91With a lead of 246 New Zealand made heavy weather of their second innings stumbling to 14 for two at the close a lead of 260 heading into Wednesdays penultimate dayThey were undone by key strikes from fast bowler Jerome Taylor who claimed Peter Fulton without scoring to a catch by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin diving in front first slip and new ball partner Kemar Roach who prised out Kane Williamson for two bowled offering no shot for the second time in the matchResuming the day on 19 without loss in response to New Zealands massive 508 for seven declared West Indies openers Gayle and Kieran Powell did well to weather a testing first hour against Southee and leftarm seamer Trent BoultGayle and fellow lefthander Powell seemed to be laying the foundation for a respectable response when they put on 60 for the first wicketHowever the introduction of Craig changed the tone of the morning session as he removed Powell for 28 and Kirk Edwards without scoring in his fifth over of the day before legspinner Ish Sodhi accounted for Darren Bravo in the next over also without scoringPowell had faced 76 balls and struck three fours when he played down the wrong line to one that pitched and straightened and was adjudged lbwTwo deliveries later Edwards poked at a good length delivery while anchored to his crease and edged to first slip Ross Taylor to take a smart catch diving to his rightWobbling at 60 for two West Indies suffered an even harsher blow just nine balls later when strokemaker Bravo chipped a simple catch back to SodhiAs has become the custom Chanderpaul then helped to steady the West Indies innings as Gayle went about his business with his usual aplombThe Jamaican collected two consecutive boundaries off Craig in the next over first sweeping through midwicket before hammering a short ball past point to move into the 40sHe then drove Sodhi to the straight boundary in the next over before reaching his 35th halfcentury with an uppish drive through cover for four off BoultUnbeaten on 59 at lunch with the West Indies on 97 for three Gayle was one of two quick wickets to fall after the interval as Southee ripped through the inningsSouthee started the rut in the fifth over after lunch when he produced a delivery that seamed away beautifully from Gayle and clipped the outside edge for wicketkeeper BradleyJohn Watling to take a regulation catchGayle faced 125 balls lasted 169 minutes and struck 11 fours and fell three runs short of 7000 runs in TestsTwo balls later Marlon Samuels found himself trapped on his crease back when he should have been forward and was palpably lbw without scoringIn chaos at 104 for five West Indies rebounded through Chanderpaul and captain Ramdin who added 72 in a positive sixth wicket standChanderpaul batting for nearly four hours facing 138 deliveries and striking 13 fours while Ramdins 39 came from 77 balls and included six foursChanderpaul played freely flicking Boult off the legs to the midwicket boundary and also sweeping Sodhi behind square for another boundary as West Indies inched towards 150Ramdin also took his chances sweetly driving Boult past cover and also depositing Sodhi over the same region for another boundaryHe picked up pace with two more boundaries off Craigs 15th over and appeared set to take the West Indies to tea before being deceived by a slower ball from Southee operating in the third over of a new spell and glancing a legside catch behind on the stroke of the breakOn 176 for six at tea the West Indies lost a cluster of wickets afterward to slide to 223 for nine before Chanderpaul and Shane Shillingford 14 put on 39 for the last wicketUnbeaten on 43 at the interval Chanderpaul raised his 63rd Test halfcentury with a single to point off Craigg and then opened up punching three fours in an over from Boult to race into the 80sSouthee fittingly ended the innings in the second over with the second new ball removing Shillingford to a catch behind with Chanderpaul left eyeing an elusive 30th Test hundredBrief scoresNew Zealand 508 for seven decl Kane Williamson 113 James Neesham 107 BJ Watling 89 Tom Latham 83 Ross Taylor 55 Tim Southee 21 not out Sulieman Benn 3142 Shane Shillingford 3145 and 14 for twoWest Indies 262 Shiv Chanderpaul 84 not out Chris Gayle 64 Denesh Ramdin 39 Kieran Powell 28 Tim Southee 419 Mark Craig 491