An unbeaten 108 (226 balls, 14 boundaries) from Hooper - the third century in as many first class matches for the Guyana and West Indies skipper saw West Indies reach a decent position. Hooper's innings assumes vital proportions in the context of the series. After winning the toss and electing to bat, things went badly wrong for the Windies.

At 44/3 the West Indies were looking straight down the barrel. And the Guyana brigade came straight to the rescue when called up to show some guts. Ramnaresh Sarwan began the repair work in earnest, putting his head down, cutting out the risky shots and picking up runs at will. The field that started off being attacking slowly spread and this made the run gathering even easier. In the company of the composed Sarwan, Hooper began to settle down after a shaky start. The pair added an invaluable 113 runs for the fourth wicket before the tea break destroyed young Sarwan's concentration. Returning from the tea break on 53 (180 balls, 6 fours) Sarwan drove Sarandeep Singh on the up and straight to Zaheer Khan at mid off.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, another local boy, took over seamlessly from where Sarwan left off. Clipping the ball away off his pads in characteristic fashion, Chanders, as he is known, was positive from very early on. This disturbed the line and length of the bowlers, with Sarandeep Singh getting a bit of stick. Lashing 15 off one over from the offie, Chanderpaul wrested the initiative away from the tourists. A patient yet fluent unbeaten 57 resulted, studded with 10 boundaries, coming off 112 balls.

West Indies now begin the second day with everything to play for. Hooper will want to go on as long as possible while Chanderpaul's immediate target will be a century. The home skipper said he was looking for a first innings score of 400 or so. Whether the Windies can muster as many, remains to be seen.

An unbeaten partnership of 111 for the fourth wicket made the Indians sweat at the Bourda Oval. With the wicket easing up considerably, Hooper and Sarwan took no chances, shutting the door on the Indian bowlers. The big strokes came rarely but when they did, the crowd was on its feet.

Negating the effect of both spin and pace, the twenty-two year old Sarwan showed maturity beyond his years. Even when Hooper struggled to come to terms with the bowling, Sarwan was untroubled. Playing out 167 balls for his 53 not out, Sarwan found the fence six times in bringing up his tenth Test half-century.

For Hooper though it was business as usual, propping up the West Indies team after an early collapse. Bettering his partner by one run, Hooper accelerated with elan after starting a bit shakily. On 54, Hopper has already notched up eight boundaries, including a straight hit back down the ground that is an ominous sign for the Indian bowlers.

Things began well for the Windies with tall left-hander Chris Gayle striking the ball cleanly. Stroking the ball back past the bowler with characteristic timing and grace Gayle struck three boundaries in his 11 ball 12 before edging Srinath to keeper Dasgupta in just the third over of the day.

Stuart Williams making a comeback to the Test side struck one fluent boundary past cover point, opening the face of the bat beautifully. Williams (13) too managed three hits to the fence but could not go past that. Shuffling across the stumps Williams was trapped in front of the stumps by a quicker one from Srinath.

A buzz went across the ground as Brian Charles Lara walked out to bat. The much hyped contest between the flowing Lara blade and the Indian bowling was all set to begin – and lasted just 5 balls. Thanks to umpire Daryl Harper. Prodding at a ball outside the off Lara brushed his pad, the resultant sound sending signals to all the Indian fielders. The appeal was vociferous and umpire Harper upheld it. Television replays suggested that the ball missed the outside edge by a bit. Lara was clearly unhappy with the decision – who wouldn’t be, given out for a duck at the start of a series?

Carl Hooper inside edged the first ball he played, but Deep Dasgupta was not quick enough to catch the resultant chance. Although in good form, coming off a breezy 149 in the Busta Cup final, Hooper looked out of sorts, giving yet another chance after getting his eye in. Sanjay Bangar would have had his first Test wicket overseas had VVS Laxman caught an edge that came from a perfect outswinger.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, calm, composed and elegant kept the bowling at bay, occasionally playing shots that brought the crowd to life. Unbeaten on 27 (69 balls, 4 boundaries) at lunch, Sarwan kept Hooper (21 batting) good company.

For the home side, things are far from hunky-dory. The return of Brian Lara is a cause for hope and Carl Hooper’s form in the Busta Cup final will reassure West Indian fans. The lack of any established support for spearhead Mervyn Dillon however leaves the bowling department a bit weaker than is ideal. Newcomer Adam Sanford makes it to the team on the back of a bagfull of wickets in the domestic competition.

The Bourda has hosted 27 Tests before this and 15 of them have been drawn - West Indies have won 7 of the remaining 12 matches. In all, India and West Indies have played each other 33 times in the Caribbean Islands and 5 times at this venue - all 5 matches have been drawn. Overall, India's record in the West Indies is dismal - with just 2 wins from 33 Tests. The West Indies have triumphed 14 times.

The toss is always crucial and Carl Hooper got off to a good start winning the toss and electing to bat first.

West Indies team: SC Williams, CH Gayle, RR Sarwan, BC Lara, S Chanderpaul, *CL Hooper, +JR Murray, MV Nagamootoo, M Dillon, CE Cuffy, A Sanford.