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Robin Uthappa in full flow :  The Karnataka  star made the afternoon his own with spanking drives, either side of the wicket.  Photo:T Shankaran

Man-of the-Match Samuels with his prized possession.  Photo: R Krishnamurthy

        A blistering start no one expected and a sudden capitulation which too none had envisaged. That was the Indian innings for you in the third Pepsi Cup ODI against the West Indies at the M A Chidambaram stadium here yesterday. It is another point that the visiting Caribbeans capitalised on the Indians' largesse to pull one back, though sputtering a bit towards the climax despite knocks of the highest quality by skipper Brian Lara and Marlon Samuels.

        The sporting crowd at Chepauk, though disappointed by the home team's lackluster display must have enjoyed Lara's brilliance and Samuels' elegance no end.

        The strokeful 98 by Samuels in a sense overshadowed Robin Uthappa's cameo (it can be called that) which included beautiful driving and the aggression needed at the top in these days of big-scoring games. Uthappa made most of the opportunity that came his way and advanced his claim for a World Cup berth while Gautam Gambhir threw away a chance to strengthen his by going for it too early.

        For the Men in Blue, going into the game without Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, M S Dhoni and Zaheer Khan (all rested), it was a tough lesson learnt, it should be said. Questions about the wisdom of 'resting' Ganguly and Zaheer, who have made comebacks after spells in the wilderness and were regain their form, would be raised, especially in the wake of the defeat.

        For the legion of Indian fans, who had thronged the Chidambaram stadium in large numbers, hoping that the adored cricket fans would extend their winning streak (to three), it was disillusioning to say the

        least. When a total of around 400 beckoned, the batting lineup imploded, yet again failing to play through their allotment. The talk of flat-track bullies, which the Indians are so often accused of being, took a backseat.

        Instead, they found the medium-pace of Dwayne Bravo too hot to handle on a cool evening and slid from an imposing looking 232 for 3 to 268 all out. 'That was where we lost the game,' said skipper Dravid later. 'To lose 7 for 36 on a flat wicket was not acceptable. We needed to do better in those end overs.'

        This has been the Indian side's shortcoming these days, the inability to see out the 50 overs. Early last year, when the victories were flowing, the flaws were not apparent, but they are now.

        The manner in which Dravid and the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar batted made the Caribbean attack look pedestrian.

        The floodgates were thrown up when Dravid went for a big hit and succumbed to a fine catch in the deep. A little later, a stunner of a catch by Runako Morton sent Tendulkar on his way and the tide turned.

        Inconsistency has been the bane of Indian cricket. It was on show at Chepauk with Sreesanth, whose wholehearted efforts in South Africa with a rich haul of wickets has drawn fulsome praise from many,

        again struggling to come to grips with bowling in the limited-overs version. A great start had been wasted by the batters and so too when it came to bowling. The first-ball dismissal of the dangerous Chris Gayle was offset by wayward stuff from Sreesanth, who endured a miserable night.

        At 92 for 3, the Indians must be sniffed an opening, but it was not to be. It was Samuels' night out and in the company of Lara, he ensured that Dravid and Co. were shut out.

        There was some excitement towards the end when a flurry of wickets fell with West Indies in sight of victory, but that was more due to the indiscretion of the batsmen rather than good bowling. Samuels

        missed out on a well-deserved century but provided the impetus for a win while Lara, an universal favourite, uncorked his class.

        'We were never really in the game once they got going,' felt Dravid, an indication of the bowlers' inability to even trouble, let alone dismiss the two West Indians.

        Disappointing it must have been for the local fans but it was a match in which two of the sports living legends (Tendulkar and Lara) came good and a couple who could make it big in future (Samuels and Uthappa) also showed the stuff they were made of.

        While Lara and his men will be keen to ride the momentum and square the series (at Vadodara), it is back to the basics for India if they have to win the ODI series against the Windies, which has been eluding them for long.