Leg-spin bowler Anil Kumble captured six wickets to bowl India to a historic win inside three days in the fourth and final Test on Sunday at Sabina Park.
Having set West Indies 269 runs to win, India hit the jackpot when Corey Collymore was caught behind for a duck off Kumble top-edging a cut, as the home team were dismissed for 219 in their second innings about 2-1/2 hours after tea.
The win gave India a 1-0 victory in the four-Test series, after the first three Tests at the Antigua Recreation Ground, the Beausejour Cricket Ground, and Warner Park all ended in draws.
It also provided India with a series victory in the Caribbean for the first time in 35 years, only their second series victory in the Caribbean in nine trips, and their first win at a ground in the Caribbean outside of Port of Spain.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin struck eight fours and one six in the top score for West Indies with an undefeated 62 from 85 balls in close to two hours.
He offered West Indies a glimmer of hope, when he added 36 for the eighth wicket with Jerome Taylor, who scored 20, and put on 39 for the ninth wicket with Pedro Collins, who made three, but there was to be no comeback story for the home side.
Ramnaresh Sarwan supported with seven boundaries in his 51 from 97 balls in three hours of batting.
The West Indies vice-captain added 70 for the fifth wicket with Dwayne Bravo, who struck six fours in 33 from 44 balls in an hour, to give India a scare.
Shantha Sreesanth, who bowled with typical vigour, made the breakthrough, when Sarwan was caught low at first slip, and Anil Kumble bowled Bravo to leave West Indies 128 for five, and effectively the match was over as a genuine contest.
Sreesanth jolted West Indies almost immediately, when he had Chris Gayle caught at second slip with the second delivery of the innings before lunch to condemn the left-handed opener to a pair of ducks for the match.
West Indies reached 18 for one at lunch, but the match swung decisively India's way with the departure of opener Daren Ganga and West Indies captain Brian Lara in the space of six overs after the interval.
Sreesanth bowled Daren Ganga for 16 in the fourth over after lunch, and two overs later, Munaf Patel scalped the big fish of batting superstar Lara lbw for 11 playing back and across to a well-pitched delivery.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul came to the wicket and spent an hour over 13 before he was adjudged lbw to Kumble to leave West Indies on 56 for four.
Bravo came to the middle and with Sarwan brought the crowd to its feet with some entertaining strokes to carry West Indies to 85 for four at tea.
After the break, both batsmen continued to bat with some enterprise and, in the fifth over after the break, Bravo hit Kumble for three successive fours, and seemed to energise Sarwan.
In the next over, the West Indies vice captain spanked two boundaries off Sreesanth, the last of which was a sweetly-timed drive through extra cover that carried him to his 50, but two balls later, the Indian fast bowler was celebrating, and West Indies were under more pressure.
SCOREBOARD:
INDIA (1st Innings): 200 (R. Dravid 81; J. Taylor 5-50):
WEST INDIES (1st Innings): 103 (Harbhajan Singh 5-13):
INDIA (2nd Innings - overnight 128 for six):
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W. Jaffer c (sub) Morton b Taylor 1
V. Sehwag lbw b Taylor 4
V. Laxman c Lara b Collymore 16
R. Dravid b Collymore 68
Yuvraj Singh c Lara b Collymore 13
M. Kaif b Collins 6
M. Dhoni b Taylor 19
A. Kumble c Bravo b Collymore 10
Harbhajan Singh c Lara b Collymore 9
S. Sreesanth c Lara b Taylor 16
M. Patel not out 0
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EXTRAS: (B-4, LB-3, W-1, NB-1) 9
TOTAL: (all out) 171
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FALL OF WICKETS: 1-1, 2-6, 3-49, 4-63, 5-76, 6-122, 7-141, 8-154, 9-171.
BOWLING: Collins 22-8-61-1 (nb1); Taylor 15-4-45-4; Collymore 24.1-9-48-5; Bravo 4-1-10-0 (w1).
OVERS: 65.1
WEST INDIES (2nd Innings):
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C. Gayle c Laxman b Sreesanth 0
D. Ganga b Sreesanth 16
B. Lara lbw b Patel 11
R. Sarwan c *Dravid b Sreesanth 51
S. Chanderpaul lbw b Kumble 13
D. Bravo b Kumble 33
M. Samuels lbw b Kumble 5
D. Ramdin not out 62
J. Taylor lbw b Kumble 20
P. Collins lbw b Kumble 3
C. Collymore c wkpr Dhoni b Kumble 0
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EXTRAS: (LB-2, NB-3) 5
TOTAL: (all out) 219
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FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0, 2-27, 3-29, 4-56, 5-125, 6-128, 7-144, 8-180, 9-219.
BOWLING: Sreesanth 15-2-38-3; Patel 12-2-26-1; Harbhajan Singh 16-3-65-0; Kumble 22.4-3-78-6 (nb3); Sehwag 4-0-10-0.
OVERS: 69.4
RESULT: India won by 49 runs.
SERIES: India win four-Test series 1-0.
UMPIRES: R. Koertzen, B. Jerling
TV REPLAYS: N. Malcolm, Reserve: Cecil Fletcher.
MATCH REFEREE: J. Crowe.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Rahul Dravid (India).
MAN-OF-THE-SERIES: Rahul Dravid (India).
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